A Spark in the Shadows
by Phoenix-Roar
Summary: PREVIOUSLY OPEN WINDOWS The Sand Siblings are sent on an Sranked mission, but the Kazekage won't explain it. The Hokage senses suspicion, and sends Team 7 to Suna to investigate. Little did everyone know what they were getting themselves into. PAUSED
1. Empty Mirrors

**Hello! This is my first Naruto story! It will mainly focus on Gaara, since he's my favourite character. :D He hasn't appeared in the show yet, so I hope I got his character right. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. All characters from Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This is a _fan-fiction._**

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---Chapter 1---

---Empty Mirrors---

---Normal POV---

The wind blew across the desert freely, twisting the sand into scarcely visible forms. The sand blew around, doing a sharp but gentle dance, becoming less and less in the jagged but soft cuts of the air. Rising and falling, the glistening golden sand moved as one with the transparent, ghostly wind. As the sapphire of the sky rose into the azure depths above, creatures in the desert scurried for protection against the growing heat.

Red locks of hair blew about in the wind. The tail of a scarf batted about, twisting and coiling behind its owner; the figure walked through the empty desert, dragging his feet silently through the sand. Vacant, light green eyes stared at the golden powder below. As he walked, he came across a lone, almost bare tree. He stared at it, and then a sadistic smile crept onto his face. His vacant eyes gleamed with insanity. He raised his hand, sand slowly creeping up to mimic his actions. He stretched his hand toward the tree, and the sand menacingly began to twist around the trunk and branches. The tree grew to about twice its original size with its ever growing sand shell. The sand settled, and he smirked.

The voice of the teenager sounded demonic and possessed as he spoke sadistic words. _"Desert Funeral."_ The adolescence fisted his hand tightly in the air. The sand shell tightened around the tree before completely imploding. The chaotic mess left behind was quite a sight. If one thought the tree was morbid before, they would have thought it was beautiful had they seen what the insane teenager did to it. Its branches lay broken, twisted and splintered. The trunk had been snapped completely, and countless scraped slivers of it lay scattered amongst the sand.

Feeling the mad power rush through his veins, the red-head continued on his way through the sands. His eyes were vacant but filled with madness; the smile of insanity was still upon his face.

The large gourd carried on his back seemed to have a very dark aura around it. With many seals and ancient words scripted on it, one could guess it was a seal for something very powerful. The teen reached up with his hand, and placed his fingertips on a particular spot on his forehead. His smile widened. He ran his fingers over the permanent kanji symbol on his left temple. It meant 'love'. He had no love for others, only for himself. How well the character fitted him; he hated every being that shared the planet with him, except himself. He knew how powerful he was.

Empty green orbs scanned the dry terrain, finally spotting a figure in the distance. The glint of insanity in his eyes grew intensely. It appeared he had found his doomed prey. His eyes narrowed predatorily, and before he was acknowledged, he slipped away with his sadistic smile at full blast.

The unknowing traveler heaved a great sigh. The desert seemed to stretch on forever- and as far as he knew, it did. He climbed another sand dune and glanced around. The wind was starting to pick up quickly. The traveler raised an arm to shield his eyes from sharp sand blowing in the powerful breeze. It was curious, how the wind could just rise in power in such a short period of time. He heard a strange, hollow howl of wind, and it sent chills down the traveler's spine. Suddenly, he didn't feel alone anymore. A feeling of fear and panic filled him, and he didn't know the reason why. He clambered over more sand dunes, in a greater hurry than before. His panicked breathing rattled as he pushed himself to a run in the deep sand. He wasn't sure if he was hallucinating, but his throat closed up in fear at seeing what he did. He tripped, catching himself with his hands. Sand coiled around his ankles and wrists ominously. His heart seemed to stop working in fear. The traveler tried to stand, but the sand worked its way up and began to encircle him whole. The man let out a strangled cry as the sand began to obscure his vision. A shadowed figure seemed to rise from the sand. Its glaring vacant eyes glinted insanely at him; the darkness surrounding its eyes only added to the affect. It bore a sadistic smile.

"W-what are you?" The traveler cried in a strangled voice. The psychopath's smile only broadened.

"I am Sabaku no Gaara," The demonic voice spoke. "Your doom." And that was the last thing the traveler ever heard, before being completely engulfed in pain as the sand imploded on him, sending blood everywhere.

---

A teenage girl with pink hair walked along a bridge. She was on her way to meet her ninja team, so they could do their mission for the day. She wore a ninja headband, bearing the sign of the Leaf Village. Her lively green-grass eyes sparkled brightly as she smiled sweetly, seeing one of her team members already there.

The teenager had black hair that was spiky in the back. He also wore a ninja Leaf Village headband. He stood, leaning against the railing of the bridge, in a very stoic pose. Arms crossed across his chest, he had a slight look of annoyance on his face.

"Sasuke-kun! Good morning!" The pink-haired girl chirped, waving her hand enthusiastically. She got a cold stare in return, but a nod to show that he accepted the greeting. The girl didn't let it get her down; she knew he was always like this.

A boy with blonde hair stood near the boy named Sasuke, and watched the girl's every movement. As she neared, he let out a whistle.

"HEY, Sakura-chan! Lookin' good this morning!" The blonde exclaimed, letting out a huge grin. The pink-haired teen named Sakura turned her head to look at him.

"Yeah. Hi, Naruto-kun." She waved it off. Naruto still beamed at her. His blonde hair gleamed in the bright sunlight, and the sparkling blue depths he had for eyes showed happiness towards her. Sakura was thankful he cared so much, but sometimes it was kind of… creepy.

"Kakashi-Sensei isn't here yet, is he?" Sakura questioned, already knowing the answer. She sat down in between Sasuke and Naruto, hugging her knees. It was really early in the morning, and she would rather be sleeping if Kakashi was going to be late. Again. She dropped her head to rest on her knees, and felt herself slowly drifting off to sleep.

Sasuke glanced around, feeling his temper rising. If Kakashi wouldn't come soon, he would have a tantrum. Not that he would let it out anyway. His cold, dark eyes glared at the railing on the opposite side of the bridge, trying to break it in half with his vision. Even the railing didn't want to co-operate with him this morning! He turned his glare to Naruto, and turned it up to full blast. He really detested the baka Naruto! What was there to be happy about, anyway?

Naruto felt eyes watching him, and he turned his head to meet Sasuke's evilest death glare. He raised an eyebrow at him, and then beamed sheepishly. Sasuke glared, but then had to look away before the blonde's smile became contagious. There was just something about Naruto's smile that made people that watched want to smile too.

Sasuke continued to glare dangerously at the railing, and then noticed something strange about the spot he was staring at. Before any of them knew it, a large poof appeared in front of them, and jumping down off the railing from the smoke, stood Kakashi.

"Kakashi-Sensei, you're LATE!" Naruto yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Yo." Kakashi stated bluntly, raising his hand in greeting. "I was late…because my car broke down."

"You don't _have_ a car," Sasuke said mildly, glaring at the lying man.

Kakashi's silver hair blew in the slight breeze; it shone brightly in the sun. He stared at them with his one uncovered eye, and then stepped forward. He adjusted the ninja Leaf Village headband that was across his other eye to be more comfortable.

Changing the subject, Kakashi turned his head to stare out across the water.

"Strange how the wind keeps picking up, isn't it?"

"Stop changing the subject, Sensei! Just face it, you were late." Sakura had woken up, and glared at him dangerously. Kakashi didn't avert his gaze from the water. "But honestly, don't you think it's strange? All throughout the morning it kept rising and falling…"

Sakura nodded, noting the seriousness in his voice; she could sense there was something strange about the weather too. Naruto grinned.

"Hey, can we just start on our mission already!"

"Yes, Naruto. I was going to give you a day off, actually, but since you requested it…"

"NOOOOOOOO!"

"Naruto-baka! What's _wrong_ with you!"

"NARUTO! When I get my hands on you-!"

And with that, Naruto was off to a bad morning, with his team mates trying to use him as a target to practice their ninja moves.

---

The jagged shadow of a tall tree veiled the red-head from the burning sunlight. The tree was burned and dead- the result from growing in the desert. Gaara leaned back against it, the heinous gourd resting beside him. Today had been pleasant for him; he had gotten to blow a tree to smithereens, and he had caught his prey for the morning. Now, he was bored. There was nothing for him to do. He would crush this tree after he was done resting in its shade, but that was all he had to look forward to.

A sudden bark startled him from his thoughts. He glanced in the direction of the sound, and came face to face with a cute dog. It had bright, happy eyes and nice gray fur; it almost resembled a wolf. Gaara let out an ominously low growl and stared at it with his blank, hypnotic eyes. The sand that swirled around him threatened to climb up the dog's limbs. The dog's hair stood on end, and it whimpered; its ears were down. It began to back away slowly and then trotted away quickly, tail between its legs. The red-headed psychopath snorted and scowled. Why did everything have to bother him so? It really got on his nerves.

Gaara walked along a sandy cobble walkway in Sunagakure. After he had scared away the stray dog, he had blown up the tree, just as he had that morning. The streets were extremely busy in Sunagakure during mid-day. Everyone avoided eye contact with him, and made sure to give him his space. The mad power still flowed through his veins; he wanted to release it all on the whole village, but he didn't want to waste all of his energy on something so pointless.

A scream echoed off of the stone buildings, making everybody silent. More screams and yells followed that one, and the crowd became restless and panicked. Gaara hid in an alleyway, peaking from behind the corner of a building. He saw blood. He saw people being attacked, people defending themselves, people getting hurt, people dying. He narrowed his eyes and focused on the main problem of the sudden commotion. A tall figure dressed in black was the attacker. The skilled fighter clutched a kunai in each hand, and slashed at anybody that was in its way. The shadowy figure was silent and light on its feet; it was as if somebody had pressed the mute button. Many people were scattered on the ground, wounded and exhausted. Gaara stood, smirking. Should he decide to save everyone? He would be looked up to. Should he decide to join the assassin? He would be pleased, and no longer bored.

The silent assassin ran along the wall of a building, and jumped into the middle of the panicked crowd. The movements of the figure were too fast to see, thus causing it to be a blur. The stones that made up the street were now becoming stained with crimson. Gaara scowled at the scene, and then crossed his arms over his chest. He was going to go back home; if he helped the assassin, he would be in unimaginable trouble with the current Kazekage. He didn't want to help the citizens either, so there was no point of him staying where he was.

A small tug on the tail of his scarf caught his attention. He looked down, only to be greeted with a shaking form. A young boy, about five or six years of age, was on his knees, holding on to the end of Gaara's scarf lightly. Tears ran down the boy's face, a look of pain in his eyes. The boy's hair was originally brown in colour, but it was stained with red. He had a wound on his shoulder, blood freely running from it. Gaara felt a twinge of annoyance. Why did everyone keep bothering him!

"M-mommy..." The boy cried softly. "P-please save my mommy…" The boy's hand dropped from his scarf, as he passed out. Gaara didn't feel like saving anyone. He looked closer at the scene in front of him, and saw a woman being beaten by the assassin. She was bleeding quite severely. Gaara sighed. He had to save the woman, or the kid beside him would never forgive him for leaving her there, and would track him down as he got older. Gaara didn't need anybody else on his tail.

The figure veiled in black mutely attacked from every angle. The woman had her arms up in defense, but it was no help to her. She screamed in anguish and pain as the assassin got her with the kunai. Where was her son, her beloved young son? Was he alright? That was all that mattered, even if she didn't make it out alive. The assassin elbowed a person trying to stop him from behind, and kicked another away. The woman was kicked harshly in the ribs, and she coughed up blood. She could already foresee her future. Misery welled up inside her, as blotchy tears fell from her eyes and onto the crimson ground below.

The assassin raised its hand and pointed the kunai downwards. The woman closed her eyes, unable to watch her fate happen. A strange rushing sound was heard and then a thump, and slowly, when nothing happened, she opened her eyes and was greeted with the sky. She clambered onto her knees, and then unsteadily onto her feet. The woman saw the assassin lying on the ground. Putting two and two together, she figured that the assassin impacted with the wall; she looked around, trying to find the source of the power.

In a dark alleyway on the opposite side of the street, there stood a figure with his hand outstretched. He seemed to glow with a dark aura. Sand coiled around his form and around his outstretched hand. The golden powder encircled the assassin's wrists and ankles, to make sure it couldn't get up. The woman did not recognize the shadowy form until she saw the insane gleam in his eyes. Her eyes widened in fear; the _monster _would probably help the assassin kill her. She dropped to her knees, a hand to her wound. She searched the crowd for her son and spotted her beside the _monster. _She gasped, but could not move.

Gaara stepped from the shadows and watched the woman's angry and frightened expression. He knew what she was thinking, and wasn't sure why he was saving her anyway. He raised his hand slowly, the sand surrounding the assassin mimicking him. The sand grew to a shell, and once again, Gaara's irises seemed to shrink with insanity.

---

Naruto panted heavily as he raced around the village, trying to escape his angry team mates. He had run all the way to the entrance of the village, in order to escape from them.

"It's not polite to just run from people, you know." Naruto spun around and spotted Kakashi standing in the shadow of a building.

"Well, it's more than polite to run when they're trying to freakin' hurt me!" The blonde said, trying to regain his breath. A strange chill came from the wind. He looked up, sensing something strange. Everything seemed suddenly so much darker.

"Look out!" Before Naruto could blink, Kakashi stood in front of him, blocking a thrown dagger with his own. Naruto's eyes widened. Was somebody trying to attack them! Naruto placed his hand on his kunai, taking it out quickly and getting into fighting position. Kakashi stood not too far from him, concentrating on finding the source of the problem. Sakura and Sasuke ran to catch up to them.

"We're being attacked!" Naruto exclaimed, letting his eyes roam the landscape for any traces of the enemy. Sakura's eyes widened in shock, but quickly got out her kunai. Sasuke already had his out, and he was intent on finding the intruder.

A sharp pierce of pain shot through Naruto's shoulder, and he winced. The blonde looked at his shoulder, and saw a sharp dagger sticking into it. He looked at the direction it came from, and surely enough he saw a quick blur moving between trees.

"There!" He hissed while keeping his eyes trained on the quick attacker. Sasuke followed the figure closely with his vision. He let out a quick growl before raising his arm and flinging the kunai at the blur. With dead accuracy, the kunai hit the figure. The shadowed attacker stopped for a moment, leaning against the tree to pull out the kunai. Kakashi ran forward and then jumped at the same tree. Sakura ran to the right to get a better view, and threw her kunai from the back. The figure was too busy blocking Kakashi's strong attacks to block Sakura's kunai.

The shadowed figure fell from the tree's protection and onto the ground. Angrily, Naruto threw his kunai at him. He blinked, and then watched his dagger get stuck in the tree. Question marks appeared over the blonde's head as he pondered about the mute figure. Where could it have gone so fast? Naruto spun around and blocked a punch. Ah. _There_ it was. The silent assassin blocked attacks with one arm with expertise as it reached into a pocket to retrieve a weapon. A quick kick from behind stopped the assassin. There stood Sasuke, who had retrieved his kunai. Naruto stood upon the assassin's back proudly; this time, it wasn't going _anywhere._ Sakura walked around to the side, and watched Naruto practically dance on the assassin. Sasuke sweat dropped, knowing only Naruto would do such a thing. Kakashi jumped down to join Team 7.

"Well done, all of you." Kakashi stated, watching the figure on the ground closely.

"Naruto, you should get off of the assassin now, I think it's already dead." Sakura stated blandly, sweat dropping. Naruto looked at her and smiled sheepishly.

"Well THIS time I helped a LOT so you guys can't compl-GAH!" Naruto was cut off as he fell backwards. He groaned and rubbed his head. The blonde opened his eyes and looked around, not finding any traces of the assassin he had pinned down just seconds ago.

"Right when I was giving my victory speech, too…"

---

When the attacker was completely covered in sand, the red-head fisted his hand. _"Desert Funeral." _The sand imploded on the figure. Strangely, no blood fell. The sand dripped down to the ground, returning back to its master. The crowd looked fearfully at him, not sure weather the assassin or Gaara was worse. Gaara glared at them all. The boy beside him was sitting up, conscious. The woman ran crookedly to her son, her leg being twisted. The boy cried and hugged her.

"Mommy!"

"I'm so glad you're alright! Did that _monster _hurt you?" She glared up at Gaara, but could not stare for long into those insane eyes.

"No, he's the one that saved you!" The boy exclaimed, turning to the red-head. "Thank you, mister!" The woman grabbed her son and walked quickly away from Gaara, stating crossly to her son that he was never allowed to talk to that _monster. _

The red-head gave a last glare to the woman he had saved, and then turned to walk out of the alleyway and down the street. He paused, feeling his anger bubble in his blood. The sand subconsciously twisted around him. A low growl began in his throat and worked its way up to an angry scream as the sand exploded outwards, slamming everyone near him into the buildings. He scowled; his darkest glare visible in his eyes as he walked down the street, the sand still crawling around him.

Yes, he thought, he _was _a monster.

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**Gah, that was LONG! XX I hope you all enjoyed it. **

**_IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ: Please be aware that I have MANY stories on my plate, and I try and update them all, so that will cause me not to update this for a very long time. Please be patient. ;.;_**

**_ALSO IMPORTANT: According to my mental plan of this fanfic's future plot, Gaara will become more and more out of character. Just thought I'd tell ye. :)_**

**Just to make sure, a kunai is those sharp dagger things that ninjas use, right?**

**Please review:D**

**-Phoenix**


	2. Dilapidated Oriel

**Here's the next chapter. Thanks to those who read and reviewed. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. All characters, trademarks, etc. from Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This is a _fan-fiction._**

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---Chapter 2---

---Dilapidated Oriel---

---Normal POV---

Sand particles swirled restlessly in the streets under the blazing sun. Golden plant stalks swayed mutely in the wind with the sand. Although it was hot outside, it was as though Sunagakure was frozen. People shuffled slowly and silently through the streets, looking for relatives and loved ones. Some sat in alleyways, tending to wounds, while others were carried to the only hospital in the area. Sunagakure was recovering from the surprise attack of the mysterious assassin.

Dragging his feet heavily, the red head insomniac walked the ghostly streets. He felt very tired since all of the commotion had happened, and he didn't know why. Nor did he like it. He wasn't very familiar with this certain feeling of tiredness. His eyelids felt heavy; his heart felt frozen. His legs felt like they were made of lead, and his shoulders felt cramped. If he didn't relax soon, he feared he would fall asleep walking. That's when disaster would _truly_ hit Sunagakure.

Sand danced around his feet. He could feel the coarse grains pulsate with anger and darkness. It was what felt like home to him; if he suddenly was to lose his sand, he would probably go more insane than he already was. His vacant eyes were trained on the ground. He already knew where he was going; glancing up, he found that he was already at his destination.

A large mansion-like structure stood in front of him, surrounded by a sharp, tall fence. The gates were wide; in the middle of the entrance was an insignia that looked dishearteningly familiar to the red head. A picture of a beast with sharp teeth and terrifying eyes was carved into the ancient-looking plate. It was _him_, the thing that ruined his life…

Disrupted from his thoughts by the gates opening, the insomniac walked into the property. The large yard was just more desert; the sand rippled in the wind, and golden stalks swayed in the wind. Gray and red rocks dotted the sand in various sizes.

Just as he reached the door, it swung open to reveal Temari. He blinked, and she jumped back.

"Ah! Gaara! Hey! I was just going ou-"

"There's no need. The city's in ruins." He walked past her coldly. Gaara could feel her shrink back, trying not to anger him.

"Why's that, Gaara? What happened?"

Without an answer, he climbed up the stairs silently to his room, where he could focus and try to fight off the delusional feeling inside of him. Temari sighed and shook her head. She had sensed something odd about her brother the moment she saw him. She didn't like fearing her brother; she really did care about him, but she couldn't help but feeling panic spread like sand in a tornado whenever he was near. It wasn't his fault. It was the thing that resided inside of him; the thing that had destroyed Gaara to make him the sleepless, insane being he was.

Temari walked out into the desert garden and approached the fence line overlooking the city. Through the confining, cage-like bars, she stared down at the place she had grown up in. Puzzlement and dread filled her as she stared down at the panicked city. Disaster had sincerely struck.

---

Kankuro paced around the orderly living room, unsure of what to do. He was debating whether to go shopping with Temari, or to just stay home and train. Coming to a conclusion that he'd rather train than shop with Temari, he sat down on the couch and sighed. Shopping would be very stressful, since he usually had to buy everything for Temari. Life was certainly interesting. Hearing commotion happen not too far away, he lifted his head, concentrating to catch on to the short conversation.

"…There's no need. The city's in ruins."

Gaara was apparently home, and already Kankuro could feel the coldness emitting from him. He and Temari were afraid of their little brother; there was nothing they could do for him.

He heard light steps trailing to his brother's room, and knew that Gaara was in a mood that he didn't want to be involved in. He got up slowly and sighed.

"Temari, wait for me. I'm coming shopping with you."

Gaara exhaled deeply when he heard the door slam shut, telling him that his siblings had left. He sat cross-legged on the floor of his bedroom. It was slightly small, but it didn't bother him. His room was decorated to his liking. It was mostly crimson. The curtains that shunned the world from him were hanging above a window, but they were tied back so the sunlight could seep in. The floor was a red so dark that it looked as though the sunset had splashed over the darkness of night. He had a table with a glass top in the middle of his room. The glass had the same insignia on the gates carved into it. The reminding picture was also carved on his door. A chair made from hardened golden stalks stood in the corner of his room beside the window. It may have looked uncomfortable, but it was quite the contrary.

The red head took deep, slow breaths. Chakra flowed through him at an even pace, giving more power to his senses. He could hear the sand outside, he could hear the silent wind, and he could hear the wounded people outside. Upon opening his eyes, he sensed something move and saw a young spider making a web. It was only the size of a dust particle, but yet it seemed to clear to him.

Gaara closed his eyes again, and let his head droop. A very horrid feeling spread over him. He couldn't tell what it was, but he knew something was about to happen; something he wouldn't like. He seemed to shrink back slightly.

The feeling increased tenfold when he heard a splitting sound. Rising to his feet quickly and going down the stairs, he opened the front door to look outside. There was nobody there, just the swirling sand. Gaara looked a little ways off and saw a scroll that had been weighed down by a rock. He walked slowly to it and picked it up. He looked at the seal. Seeing as it was important, he opened it right on the spot.

_Kankuro, Temari, Gaara:_

_See Kazegake-sama as soon as possible. Urgent. _

Gaara walked back to the grand doors but stopped as he got to it. His vacant eyes glinted with anger as soon as he saw the insignia on it. Now he knew what that horrid splitting sound was from. Somebody had carved a sadistic, jagged line right through the beast's eyes. Beneath it were words that made him seethe with anger. _Stay where you belong. _

Walking down the streets once more, the cold teenager came to the building in which the Kazekage worked. He spotted Temari and Kankuro standing by the doors, waiting for him. They must have known he would be coming. He wondered if they knew who sent the message; he was so angry, he itched to release the demon… But knowing that it would destroy _everything_ made it seem cruel to him, and he's not the type to think anything of the sort. He pulled open the doors and walked inside, past his siblings, who, startled, jumped and then rushed along to keep up with his fast pace.

The receptionist at the desk stared at them as they stormed past. She would have said 'slow down!' had it been someone less violent, but she knew about Sabaku no Gaara and decided to keep quiet. Gaara walked to the door and opened it stiffly, like a machine. He felt so cold and angry inside, that he felt as if he had turned into a robot.

Their quiet steps seemed to echo in the grand room; the marble floor was so clean, it was reflective. Sitting in a comfortable chair behind a desk, the Kazekage was busy signing papers and skimming through thick books. Hearing the trio enter, he looked up and watched them take a seat.

**(A/N EDIT: I've changed the following part for future chapters to make sense.)**

The three teenagers sat in the chairs, hearing the ticking of a clock through the silence. It ticked loudly, contrasting the heavy muteness. The Kazekage finally put his writing utensil down and looked upon them. His cold stare was met with Gaara's. They glared with hatred, before the Kazekage turned to look at the others.

"Hello." The Kazekage said. Kankuro and Temari bowed their heads in respect, and Gaara just stared unblinkingly. Silently, the Kazekage's hand stretched out to the side and retrieved one of the many scrolls that sat upon his desk. He then extended the scroll to them. Temari grasped the scroll. She picked at the seal and opened the scroll, her eyes scanning across the page. At one point her eye twitched, but not of annoyance. Kankuro stared over her shoulder at the paper. He stared, and stared… and finally sat down, breathing a heavy sigh. Gaara didn't bother to look.

"Retrieve your belongings, and depart as soon as possible." His monotone voice sounded nearly venomous.

Almost with fearful speed, Kankuro and Temari got out of their seats and were at the door. Gaara stood slowly from his chair, glaring at the Kazekage. "Yes, father." He turned, and walked out with his siblings.

---

A hollow sound could be heard by wandering people as the large doors to the looming mansion slammed shut. Clicks were heard as the bolts locked, and Temari gave the doors a last, final tug. The three siblings turned and walked through the desert terrain to the gates that enclosed their property.

Gaara clasped a metal bar on one door of the gate, and Kankuro held onto one on the other side. They both pushed and the gates opened easily, opening the world to the three. The gate creaked as it shut, and they walked down the quite narrow street.

Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara each had worn-out packs hanging across their shoulders to rest at their sides. They contained small items that belonged to them. Temari carried the scroll in which their instructions were held.

'What a hell of a trip this will be…' Gaara thought, crossing his arms in contempt. 'I'd rather be locked in my room for years than do this.' _'Hah; as if you'd last that long.' _Gaara's eyes glinted dangerously.'Who asked you to talk?' _'I don't need permission; I do as I please.' _

As a war that was unbeknownst to Temari and Kankuro fought on, Kankuro was thinking. What if this went wrong? Why had the Kazekage chosen this for them? It seemed outrageous; no, it _was_ outrageous... But, those eyes and that smile of his had somehow convinced them to do it. How could they refuse the Kazekage, anyway? Kankuro sighed and shook his head slightly, agreeing with himself that what was to happen, was to happen. Fate was fate, and although it felt like it was twisting, that's life.

Fate wasn't the only thing that was twisting. Temari felt almost sick enough to vomit in nervousness. She twisted the strap of her bag in an attempt to calm her nerves, but she never was good at calming down. Although she didn't showed it on the outside, her anxiety always swelled deep inside.

The night sky had clouded over the atmosphere not too long ago, but it was already filled with shining staccato smears that gleamed with the belief the trio didn't have. Sand still swirled in its never ending motions, and the moon stood at a stand-still; full and shining like a second sun. The sand looked gray in the moonlight, and in the distance, there was the city called Konohagakure, the city that held the Chûnin Exams. That was not their destination, but they would soon cross through it. They had to be cautious; many ninja they had experiences with resided there, and they wanted to raise no suspicions.

---

The moon seemed to have died a while ago and the stars had lowered their brightness to almost invisible as the exhausted teens reached Konohagakure. The sun was just above the horizon, signaling the very start of morning. Reaching the border, they showed their passes and proceeded into the town to pick up supplies. The town had also been hit by the assassins, and one could plainly tell. Signs were ripped, walls broken, people wandering astray like in Sunakagure. A shop that had been slightly affected was selling a variety of things. Temari glanced to it and signaled that she would stop there to pick up supplies.

Kankuro and Gaara stood not too far away from their sister, watching everything around them, on guard. The mission they had been sent out on was one of the hardest they had ever been assigned from what they could tell.

A sudden disruption caused Gaara to turn abruptly in the direction it was coming from. There was yelling and shouting, and soon the red head knew what it was; _who _it was.

"Hurry, Temari. We have to get out of here. Now." Gaara said using a serious tone. He stared at his sister with importance, and Temari quickly paid. As the yelling got louder, the three ran into an alley in between two buildings and jumped to the rooftops.

"Hey! I told you to slow down!" Sakura yelled at the blond-haired boy, who apparently wasn't listening. "I'm telling you Naruto, there will be lots of ramen left waiting for you."

"Well, I'm starving!" He argued, a smile gracing his face. Naruto looked down and suddenly bent over.

"What are you _doing_?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow in annoyance.

"Look! The winds must really be picking up this year. Sand blew all the way from the desert to Konohagakure!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. "Maybe enough sand will blow here to make a huge beach! That would be AWESOME!" Naruto continued to ramble on about beaches, and whatnot. Sakura only shook her head, while Sasuke, being mute the whole while, stared at the sand.

Overlooking the rail to see the three clueless Leaf Ninjas, the red-headed insomniac let out a silent exhale and then turned away. If they raised suspicion in the team from the Leaf Village, they would know something was up. They were to stay hidden for as long as possible.

Feeling light as air, the three ninja skimmed the buildings with expertise. On the outskirts of Konohagakure, they stopped abruptly on a tall building. The building was abandoned by what they could tell, so they knew they wouldn't get any trouble. Kankuro dropped his bag and plopped down, letting his eyelids close. Temari fell asleep as soon as she was in a comfortable position. The two teens slept while Gaara sat a little ways away from them, watching the brightening sky with a grimace.

---

Energized, the Ninja from the Sand made their way through the forest surrounding Konohagakure. Nothing much happened here either, except when Temari got mad at a swarm of gigantic bees. She had blown them very far into the atmosphere with her fan.

Over the course of days, the trio had traveled through the forest, and around smaller villages that were scattered along here and there. It was tiresome, long days, and they almost never took breaks.

---

A week had passed, and the Sand Ninjas were resting on a large, jagged cliff overlooking the ocean. The crystalline water stretched as far as one could see. Gaara sat underneath a dead tree, staring out at the calm but deadly surface of the underwater world. Kankuro was eating a small piece of fruit, and Temari was once again studying the map. She raised a hand to her head and grasped her hair in frustration.

"This is unbelievable! We've searched this _entire_ area! Where the hell could it be?" She said, snarling at the paper.

Kankuro shrugged and Gaara didn't respond, which was expected. They had gone to main points on the entire land mass, but yet they could not find what they were assigned to find. They were now searching up and down the coastline, but they couldn't find anything; just a bunch of dead, rotted trees and jagged, spiky rocks that looked like broken shards of glass.

The sun was setting; it hovered over the edge of the earth, the water and sky ablaze in its diminishing fury. Temari relaxed against the tree beside Gaara and Kankuro. They watched the sun set quietly.

Somehow, the area seemed… angry. It was peaceful, but angry. The sun set quietly but furiously, and the trees' dead branches seemed to extend further like a cat's claws. The rocks that jutted up seemed even spikier, silhouetted by the dying sunlight.

The sun seemed to fall from the sky as it dropped out of their views. The sky darkened minutes after, and stars began to sparkle through the earth's atmosphere. The moon that night was crescent in shape. Gaara felt relief fill him suddenly, as though the stars and moon took his pain and tiredness from him. All at once, the feeling was gone, and the horrid emotions rushed back into him with twice the force. Frowning, he wondered what was happening.

'…_Below...''_

His eyes stared icily out to the dark, rock ledge. The holder of the voice Gaara had heard sensed something dreadfully strange about the area. Slowly, the red-head got up to his feet and took a light step forward.

"Gaara?" Kankuro called tentatively. The younger figure continued to move forward. Kankuro nudged Temari, who was sleeping very lightly. She woke in an instant, blinking a couple of times to clear the unconsciousness away. "Gaara, what are you doing?" She called with a slightly groggy voice, as she watched her younger brother advance to the ledge.

Gaara stepped to the spikes of the cliff and looked downwards slightly to the ocean. He grasped the sharp, blade-like rocks and leaned over the side. By this time, Kankuro and Temari had jumped up and were coming towards him. What was he trying to do?

The insomniac leaned out as far as he could go; if it weren't for his light but firm grasp on the cutting rocks, he would have already fallen. Looking down directly one hundred and eighty degrees from the ledge, he saw-

---

Naruto yawned and stretched from his place in a high branch in a tree. He scratched his head and rubbed his eyes. His foot dangled limply off of the side; he was just waking up from a nap. (Don't try this at home or out in the park or whatever, because you'll fall off and get seriously injured!)

The energetic knucklehead climbed down from the tree expertly, and sprinted across the field dotted with trees. He inhaled deeply, and let out a yell for absolutely no reason. Today was a great day; he got to have a catnap in a tree, and he was going to meet up with his team. He ran to the middle of town, and seeing his teammates already standing there, he quickened his pace to get to them. He stopped so abruptly, Sakura began to yell at him. Again.

"Naruto, how many times do I have to tell you not to scare us like that!" She screeched in his ear. Anime waterfalls fell from his eyes as he covered his deafened, pained ears with earmuffs that seemed to appear from nowhere. Sasuke sweat dropped as Sakura continued to yell at poor Naruto.

A large cloud of smoke suddenly appeared, and Kakashi waltzed out of it. "Hey guys." He announced as he came over to them, giving a stiff wave; Sasuke double-sweat-dropped.

"The Hokage wants to see all of you." Kakashi said, not wasting any time.

---

Looking down directly one hundred and eighty degrees from the ledge, he saw-

Nothing.

Water swirled and clashed painfully with the twisted rocks, and shriveled, rotted, bent roots and branches spurted out of the rock wall. Footsteps approached behind him, but he didn't care. He could sense something now, some sort of power that was so efficient he could almost feel it in the air.

'_...Below, it's coming from below…'_

Feeling almost possessed by the power, Gaara tipped so that when he registered what was happening, he was falling down to what seemed like death. He could hear the sharp gasps coming from his siblings as they stood at the ledge, barely able to see their younger brother in the darkness.

Sand crept from his gourd and grasped to the rocks. Gaara extended his hands and feet to meet with the rocks too, and he had stopped falling. Strength flooded through him as the power seemed stronger than ever. It pulled him with a force he had never felt. He had almost fallen in the black water swirling hungrily below him. He knew he was risking his life, but the pull of the force was too strong to escape. He only wondered why his sister and brother hadn't sensed it too.

Gaara pulled himself across the wall quickly, almost like a spider or a lizard would climb up a vertical wall. The sand helped him to scale the wall at an even faster pace, but the adolescence was strong and he went across the jagged wall like he was an animal.

The power in the air was almost unbearable, because it was so strong. He put his hand on a sharp rock, and felt around with the other hand, feeling that this spot was something special. He felt around and scanned with his eyes, his senses empowered. There was a space here.

He pulled himself up onto the rough ledge and looked into the visibly impenetrable space. Gaara knew this was it.

---

Gaara had climbed back up, and when he reached the edge, his brother and sister questioned him.

"I've found it." With that, all was silent, and they followed Gaara carefully. They scaled the rocks a much slower pace than Gaara did, careful not to fall. The sand master had his sand ready just in case one of them did decide to fall; he could catch them.

Finally, they all lifted themselves into the ledge Gaara had found in the darkest recess of the cliff. Not wasting any time, they entered the nearly-impossible-to-find location. They evaded sharp stalactites and stalagmites that shattered the air with their piercing twists and turns in the narrow passage. The passage wasn't too long; they could tell because the echoes of their footsteps seemed to lessen further ahead.

They were almost there, until…

"State your business."

The cold voice rivaled the temperature as two shadowed eyes stared at them through the dark.

"We were sent from Sunagakure. We had a mission to complete: to locate this place." Temari spoke smoothly as if she had planned it out, but her stopped heart was in her throat. Everything was mute, and that made the three more alert; something was happening. A sudden rush of power encircled them, and many pairs of shadowed eyes surrounded them.

"I take it we've found the Village of Darkness, then?" Kankuro asked quietly.

"Yes." Gaara stated simply.

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I can't continue this chapter any longer. Sorry. I have to plan out the rest in further detail. (11 pages- my longest chapter:D )

**Please, please, PLEASE review!** I don't think I'll be updating soon, but maybe I will. It all depends on how busy I am. Sorry if this chapter was a bit boring…

_**---**_

**_VERY IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ:_**

**I may not work on my other fan-fictions for a while, so if you read the other ones and you're wondering when they're going to be updated, the answer is:**

**-I may update them _at random _if I so happen to write a chapter for it.**

**-They are _paused_ for the time being (until I can come up with a better plot for each story).**

**I will continue to update this story mainly, but there might be the occasional update of another fan-fiction. :)**

**---**

Thank you very much for your time. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)

Please review!

---Phoenix


	3. Fractured Skylight

**Thanks to those who read and reviewed. I appreciate your thoughts and comments. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the show "Naruto". All characters from and in the show "Naruto" belong to Masashi Kishimoto. **

**_WARNING: This chapter describes gore near the end. If it makes you uncomfortable to read such things PLEASE DO NOT READ IT! HEED THIS WARNING. _**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

---Chapter 3---

---Fractured Skylight---

---Normal POV---

The sound of silence was hollow but present. Water dripped from rigid stone fangs, but the splash of it hitting the ground was muted. Icy air clawed through the narrow space, and it rivaled with the quiet. The dreary, death-like presence of the place was almost throttling.

Three young figures stood in the darkness, surrounded by shadows that were invisible to them. Wisps of clouds came out of each of the three figures as they breathed the cold through their systems. Not one sound reached their ears; even their own inhaling and exhaling was blocked out.

Temari felt sick. She tried to calm herself down, but she didn't know where she was, who was surrounding them, or even if her siblings were still with her. How would she get out if she got separated from them? She wanted to bury herself in the rocks and escape the ominous presence that hovered around her.

Kankuro stood still, and did not dare move. He shook, but not because of the cold. The surrounding area felt like it connected to hell, and made him feel greatly overpowered. Ever since they had spoken in the dreary place, it had seemed to close in on itself. Everything seemed so small; he felt as though he was caged.

Gaara felt cold. The air around him was chilling. He kept his calm but could feel the anxiety and fear of his siblings. He knew if they were scared, that they would turn to him as a last resort.

The red head sensed the otherworldly auras surrounding them move. He took a step forward, and then found that it was clear. The malevolent presences were moving silently further into the cave. He could not see them, and he could not hear them. He relied on his instincts to tell him where they were going.

He heard a sharp gasp come from his right and knew it was Temari. Although it seemed before that sound could not be heard in this strange place, it was clear now that it was just a trick played by the mind. Even if sounds were muffled and quieter, once he concentrated, he could hear Kankuro's panicked breathing and he could sense Temari's quivering. He knew they weren't walking with him, and he wasn't sure what to do. If he went with the unidentifiable figures, they would be left behind. They would never find their way out of the strangling darkness. Making up his mind, the red head focused to keep his sand in control. He reached back and grabbed his sibling's hands. He could feel them recoil, but his grasp only tightened around their wrists.

Kankuro's eyes widened at the feeling of a cold hand grabbing his right wrist. He tried to wrench free, unsure of what was pulling him. Could it be one of the shadows he could hardly see? Or was it Gaara? Either seemed improbable. The figures they had encountered recently didn't seem to be in a physical form; they just seemed to float there, existing in matter that did not exist in this world.

Gaara, on the other hand, would have plenty of difficulty keeping his sand in check while he was guiding them. Perhaps it _was_ Gaara though; his younger brother had gotten strong enough to keep the malevolent sand in his gourd. The sand would try and seep out from the gourd at contact, so it would take a lot out of the red head to control it. Kankuro came to a decision, and let his captor pull him through the cave.

Temari was scared. Presences seemed to brush past her, but she could not hear them or see them. She could almost feel them there while they moved in a direction she was not sure of. Her heart felt like it was about to burst, but she did not allow herself to express it. A sharp intake of breath came from her, and she wondered if anyone had heard it. It seemed loud, but she could barely hear it herself. A moment passed, and then an icy hand reached back and grabbed her left wrist. She tried to pull back, but the grip was strong, and it only dug into her arm more the more she pulled. She wanted to refuse being led forward, but her captor seemed just as determined not to let her go. Temari ran through the options she had in her head. She realized she only had one option, and that was to follow.

Their path inclined sharply, almost causing them to trip as they stepped carefully around jutting points. Still, Kankuro's and Temari's captor did not abandon them. The grip on their wrists was getting weaker, but they knew that if they broke free and ran, they had no hope of ever getting out again. It seemed pretty simple to walk in mostly one direction, but they mentally had no power to battle the darkness alone. Even if they were with each other, they could get lost. Their strength was diminishing as well, from the rough rock climb to the entrance of the hellish new discovery. Their legs became tired and heavy from the sharp raise in the narrow path.

As soon as they thought their legs would give out underneath them, the path curved downwards and declined at a harsh angle. Now they had to fight to keep from falling forwards into the spikes that threatened them. The further down they went into the rock, the longer, sharper, and numerous the fangs of the endless cove became. They soon had to twist through small gaps to continue. Finally, the grasp on Temari's and Kankuro's hands had to break away as they went through an even smaller gap. Temari and Kankuro panicked. An anxious moment passed, and then the hold on their hands appeared again. They moved on.

Kankuro let his mind astray to pass the time. It felt like a long time since they had been outnumbered by the mysterious auras. He was so sure that they were close to a more spacious place because their footsteps had less of an echo, but now he was unsure. His feet ached, and he just wanted to teleport out of there.

Temari was feeling about the same. She tried imagining herself back at home, staring out her window at the sand twirling in the air. That didn't help her much; it only made her contempt for the place to augment much more. She wondered why the Kazekage had sent them out on such a mission; she had no idea what the main objective was.

Gaara felt very tired. Keeping back the sand was taking his all. He was actually starting to feel a bit scared; scared that he would collapse, and that the thing inside of him would destroy everything…

'_Boy, why don't you let me out?' _Gaara heard the message clearly, since everything was so silent. It was something only he could hear.

'If I do, you'll kill everything here, including Temari and Kankuro. They won't be prepared for an attack from you.' There was silence. 'They won't be prepared for anything.'

'_Exactly. Why not just end the misery? It won't be your fault.'_

'No.'

'_You've got it coming to you. Watch your back, kid. What comes around goes around.' _Gaara's face was distorted with an inner rage he longed to let out.

After what seemed like forever, the ground became level again. It was a massive tangle of stone daggers that went every which way and in every direction. Gaara suddenly felt a sudden strange change in the atmosphere around them. An aura that had been present beside them had vanished. Soon, all around them, auras seemingly began to evaporate. Gaara's heart began to beat faster. He had a feeling that if he took even one step forward, he would collide with a solid, sealed, pointy rock wall. He pulled his siblings forward a bit to stand beside him. He had lost his hope. They could not continue further, and they couldn't go back. It was quite a miserable end.

A freezing hand placed itself on Gaara's arm. He was pulled forward, and he then knew a darkness that was more choking than the one surrounding his siblings.

Feeling the air embrace him once more, Gaara could not have been more grateful to have the rocky ground underneath him. He took in a deep breath, and concentrated. He could hear a strange sound for a moment, and then he could slightly hear his siblings. The hand that had grabbed Gaara before placed itself on his arm once again and dragged him forward. The sound of shuffling feet told him that his siblings were also captured by someone. That was one problem off of his mind. Why hadn't his sand stopped the freakish being from pulling him? It was then that the red head realized that his sand _was _trying to protect him. The possessed sand clawed at the restraint, but it remained unharmed. The figure was not affected by the sand whatsoever.

After more twists and turns, Gaara began to think it wouldn't end. Maybe they were going to be led on forever, until they went insane, or died. A shudder crawled up his back. He didn't want to die such a horrible death.

He began to lose feeling in his hands and feet. Goosebumps had risen on his skin and he felt if it was any more freezing, he would shatter. It _hurt_ to breathe in the air that surrounded him. It felt sharp going into his throat, and the invisible blade spread numbness through his lungs. He knew the temperature was well into the negatives, and he didn't know what had caused the sudden change.

Another severe drop in temperature, and Gaara began to feel dizzy. The air seemed to be thin of oxygen, although they were in great depth, instead of great altitude. His eyelids fluttered open, and the vacant orbs he possessed glared into nothingness. Unexpectedly, his eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

A purplish aura lit up the surrounding area. The rocks glistened with something that looked magical. He dizzily looked up, and a hidden sky of jagged, rock clouds greeted him. The cave ceiling shimmered in the light of the purple aura. Gaara's head lolled back into a comfortable position, and he dared to look down. The terrain stretched out a few meters farther, and then dropped off completely, like the cliff he had jumped off to get there. He couldn't see the end, and in fact, he didn't want to.

Realization hit him, and he turned around quickly. He scanned the area, and was relieved to see his siblings standing behind him. They looked terrified, but he couldn't blame them.

All was silent. The three siblings stood there, unsure of what to do. They were there, but they hadn't planned the next step.

Temari wrapped her arms around herself. She shivered; she was very pale, and her lips had a bluish look. Her fingers were also blue at the tips. She reached into her pack with a shivering hand, and pulled out the map given to them by the Kazekage. She trailed a frozen finger to the cliffs on the map. There was no symbol to indicate a cave in the rock wall.

"Clearly, we're somewhere nobody's recorded yet." She placed the map back in her bag.

Kankuro folded his arms tightly. He tried not to shiver, but he couldn't help it. He didn't understand how it could get so cold without it snowing.

As though somebody read his mind, a freezing cold piece of fluff landed on his arm. Eyes widening in disbelief, he watched as more came down. They landed gracefully upon the three, silent but freezing to the touch. Gaara frowned.

"How can it _snow_ inside a _cave?_" The red head questioned, staring up at the dark rocks above. He squinted, and could make out wispy figures floating amidst the jutting ceiling.

"No _way_…" Temari was also squinting above. "There can't be clouds in a cave, unless something has evaporated. I don't see _what_ could evaporate, though. There are no liquid substances in this area." She stated. Her eyes landed on the cliff's edge none to far away from her.

"Unless," Continued Kankuro. "There is some sort of liquid down there." He pointed a finger at the depression.

"It doesn't matter to me. If we know how it snows inside a cave, what good is it to us? We need to find out why the Kazekage sent us here, and fast. Or we'll all make very nice ice cubes." Gaara scowled at the two. They nodded in agreement and the trio began to walk along the cliff's edge.

Gaara extended his numb fingers, and caught a snowflake. He examined it, frowning. The snowflake was not white; it was black like the clouds in a furious storm. All of the small, floating icicles were, too. It was a strange phenomenon. The snowflake did not melt.

A whooshing sound caught their attention. Figures appeared out of nowhere. They were almost like the clouds hanging over them; wispy and translucent. They were unidentifiable. Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro watched nervously as the creatures circled around them.

Gaara felt anger bubble inside him.

"You led us here, so tell us what we're here for." He snapped, not caring if they attacked him or not. He was too cold to care.

All was silent, and then a voice echoed around them.

"You say you were sent from the Kazekage," It said. "Show us your identification passes."

The three dug around in their bags and pulled out their passes. They held them up.

"So you are from Sunagakure… we have been expecting you." A figure evaporated, and appeared right in front of them. They took uneasy steps back, but the others closed in on them.

"The Kazekage has told us you are very strong." The voice said. "We require the strength of all three of you."

"Do you mind explaining what we're supposed to do?" Kankuro asked. He couldn't bite back his impatience.

"You will see in time, but for now, you must start training here."

"Training…? We're strong enough," Temari said, becoming furious.

"If you are so strong, let us see you survive. You are cold, are you not? You shant be any longer." The form floated forward in the blink of an eye, and before Temari knew what was happening, she had been pushed off of the ledge.

"Temari!" Kankuro shouted, and both of her siblings tried to go to the edge. They were blocked by the figures.

"Why?" Kankuro shouted. "I thought you needed us!"

"We do; but if you are to be uncooperative, you will be our prey." The voice now spat out the words, which had become full of venom. The words had been separated, so each one engraved themselves into their minds. "Let your sister be a reminder."

Temari fell. The cliff walls around her were sharp, and they clawed at her as she fell past. The wind sliced at her, and so did the rocks. Deep gashes appeared all over her form. She didn't scream; it wouldn't help her. Nothing would.

The dark snowflakes were still surrounding her. As she fell, she noticed them start to decrease in numbers until they were no more. She was so numb; she could hardly feel the coldness anymore. She could not see where the end was. She was pushed backwards, thus she stared upwards at the cliff edge that was becoming further and further away from her. Her eyes closed as her vision became fogged by blackness.

She was about to drift off into unconsciousness, when she didn't feel quite so cold anymore. In fact, she was warm. It was almost like she was back in Sunagakure. She could imagine, feel the sand beneath her feet. The temperature rose. Her closed eyes twitched slightly, realizing that it was becoming increasingly hot. She was no longer in Sunagakure. She was in hell.

The rocks became more numerous, scraping her even worse than before. The heat became almost unbearable; she didn't understand what was happening.

The answer to her question was soon answered. She tilted her head to look over her shoulder, and her heart seemed to implode. The cliff edges peeled away to reveal a river like flow of substance. The liquid was lava; except, it was not coloured like fire. It was pitch black, like the snowflakes that fell high above. She knew she would die if she touched it; she would be incinerated. Fear almost burst her heart as she finally let out a scream. It was all going to end.

Her arms, hands, feet, and back touched the lava, and she screamed again. The pain was unbearable. She could almost feel herself melt away. It seemed as though she was flung into the core of the sun. Flecks of the smoldering black lava jumped up and clasped onto her hair, face, and body. In less than a second, she would be consumed by the lava.

A cold touch on her shoulder didn't even snap her out of her delirious state. One of the floating shadows had appeared, and limb-like shapes clasped onto Temari's shoulders. It hauled the psychotic teenager upwards, dragging her back through the rocks, which clawed her ferociously once again.

The heat simmered back down, and soon snowflakes touched her limp form. They instantly began to melt, once they got within one meter radius of her. Steam and smoke ricocheted off of her lifeless form. It became cold once again, the winter like weather embracing her sharply.

Temari couldn't understand what was going on around her. Her mind throbbed with heat; it was almost as though she was still trapped in the confinements of the deathly lava. She could only faintly feel the coldness that surrounded her. Her physical form burned unbearably, and she couldn't even tell if her limbs had been incinerated or not. Frostbite and critical burns ate away at her. She didn't know which would kill her first.

Temari opened her left eye only a crack. She saw a blurry, dim light that she barely registered as the depression opening. Her eye closed, and she let out a painful exhale. She fell unconscious.

The shadow hauled her to the cliff edge, and flung her at the sharp, rocky ground. She hit the rocks and continued to roll and bounce across the ground from the great momentum the shadow had flung her with. The rocks that she hit became stained red. Temari finally stopped, deathly still.

Kankuro rushed over, fear spreading through him. His family had never been close, but he still felt anxiety grip at his heart. She was his sister, and he was her brother. Nothing could change that.

"Temari, can you hear me?" Kankuro called, his voice wavering in his panic and horror. There was no response.

Gaara watched from a small distance. Hatred burned within him, like a hatred he had almost never felt before. He didn't know what the Kazekage's point was to send them here, but he knew that he would never forgive him; Kazekage or not. He would never forgive these shadowy figures either.

There was a malevolent silence. "I hope you have learned to follow our orders. You may just end up worse than your sister if you do not listen next time." The voice hissed.

Temari's eyes fluttered open slightly, pain restricting her from even opening them fully. She was bound by pain, which didn't allow her to move at all.

"Temari!" Kankuro exclaimed.

Dried blood stained Temari, and fresh blood still ran from her endless wounds. Her clothes were torn in many places, and two pieces of her bag were only attached by a small thread that had been able to withstand the slashes. She was severely and critically burned all over. Her lips were split in five different places, and they had regainedtheir bluish hue. The map hung halfway out of her severed bag, ready to fall out. Kankuro grabbed it. Unbearable pain ran through every last nerve in her body. Temari closed her eyes, and tried to push herself up.

"Don't move," Gaara stated coldly, pushing Temari's gruesome form back down none to gently with his sand. He was now beside his brother. Temari hissed, and became unconscious once more as the pain was too exceedingly unbearable for her to withstand.

A shadowed floating mass moved near to them. It lunged forward and its form changed. It landed, hunched over, consumed by shadows. The shadow they stared at now looked like a human. A complicated, dark, robe like outfit covered it. One could clearly tell it was the leader. The spiritual hat it wore on its head seemed a duplicate of the Kazekage's and the Hokage's; the only difference was that it was dark, matching the robe and the snowflakes that fell.

The figure looked up. Its entire eyeball gave the illusion of a black pit. There was no iris, or pupil.

The malevolent voice it possessed spoke.

"Let us begin."

It lunged.

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**This is only a page or so shorter than the last chapter. I'm happy I made it lengthy, but I think it droned on a bit too long. I'm sorry if it was boring, or too overly descriptive. :(**

**I know it took a while for this story to be updated, but I've been busy with schoolwork and whatnot. **

**Please read and review.**

**Phoenix-Roar**


	4. Eviscerated Pane

**Thank you to the person who reviewed my last chapter. My last chapter was too boring, so I'll try and make this one not quite like that. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from or in the anime show/manga series "Naruto". All of the characters in the anime show/manga series called "Naruto" are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. **

**---- WARNING! WARNING! _SPOILERS!_ WARNING! WARNING! ----**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

---Chapter 4---

---Eviscerated Pane---

---Normal POV---

Something cold had fallen from above; others followed pursuit. Temari cracked open her eyes, watching the dark snowflakes dance in the air. They landed on her, and refused to melt. She tried to raise her hand to brush them off, but found she couldn't. Pain bound her still. She glanced to the left, and saw a suspicious creature on all fours. It looked up, one eye peeking out of the shadows. The creature lunged forward.

Temari watched helplessly as the vicious being attacked Kankuro. The leader of the group slashed away at his prey, while the victim tried to defend himself with his kunai.

The ring of shadows around the two fighting began to shuffle; one by one, their forms took shape. Weapons they had never seen before were slung in various places on their pants, and thin rows of pockets were attached to their vests. Coils of steel bands were wrapped around their arms; they shone with darkness unlike any metal that had been discovered.

There were ten of them, surrounding their leader and Kankuro. Some stood while others knelt. Their backs were curved, and their faces seemed to be molded into frozen masks. Their heads hung low as if looking down, but their eyes watched. Their fingers were bent slightly at their sides. The last part of their fingers was mutated into sharp, bony claws. All of the clothes they wore were black, to camouflage them well. Last but not least, steel plates shone from each mysterious figure. A symbol was carved into the center of each plate. The insignias were tied around various places such as their foreheads, necks, arms, and legs.

Movement in the ring was almost invisible. The group's leader moved so fast, it was almost unreal. The deathly attacks placed blows upon Kankuro, unstoppable. The prey had only been able to strike the leader a few times in counterattack. Kankuro was beginning to feel weak; he was scattered with bruises and cuts. He caught the leader's fist and blocked the other one, but he had lost his grip on the first. He didn't know how; it was almost like the leader was just some sort of moldable existence, like fog, water, air, or sand that kept sliding through his holds. Suddenly, he was punched, and he parted with the ground. A fierce kick drove him back into the rocks.

Temari couldn't stand to watch anymore. She couldn't do anything; she felt so pathetic.

"Gaara," She called weakly, her throat and voice being damaged by the burns. "Help him!"

Gaara gritted his teeth. He needed to help Kankuro, or he would die at the merciless attacks of the leader. The only problem was that two of the ninja had moved near to him, probably keeping an eye out in case he tried something. He looked over at his injured sister and saw two ninja there too.

'_Can't help Kankuro?' _

'Don't say anything. I know what you're going to suggest.'

'_Why not? It's your only chance.'_

'You know 'why not'.'

'_You'll be regretting it. It'll all be your_ _fault if he dies, because you didn't try to help him. It's never too late to change your mind, you know... The opportunity's here; take it. Or; leave it, and let your brother die.' _

Gaara clenched his fists so hard he thought that he would break them. A plan began to formulate in his mind. Gaara analyzed the area, and the ninja. They were near him, but they gave him enough elbow room. The red-head inhaled deeply and exhaled, cleaning out his lungs of stale air. The cork of the gourd popped off, barely making any noise as it rebounded off of the rocks. Golden sand began to seep from the gourd, and the cursed particles swirled around Gaara's feet. He glanced at the ninja; had they realized he was about to make a break for it, or were they actually unaware of him? It was too late to turn back; either way, he'd get Kankuro out of there. Or they'd all have a rendezvous in the world of the dead.

---

Naruto walked along the cobblestone street with his two friends, Sasuke and Sakura. Their team leader and sensei, Kakashi, trailed not too far behind the three of them.

Naruto glanced around at all the shops, remembering every feature about them. He tried to remember the pattern of the leaves on the trees, the direction of the blowing wind upon the grass, the bee's path as it zoomed around a patch of flowers, the powerful beat of a crow's wings as it flew… he didn't know if he was getting a mission; if it was a high-class mission, he might not come back. The blonde wanted to remember everything the way it was, so he would have something to keep him going.

He didn't like many things about the village. The thing he abhorred most was the way everybody treated him like dirt. He had to live with it every day since he could remember. He even remembered somebody spitting on the ground near where he was walking and swearing at him as he started the trek with his group.

Even so, he would miss the things that seemed to calm him. The crystal-clear river that had shown him his reflections so many times; the trees that had supported him when he hid from the rest of the world; the birds who flew near him as though he wasn't repelling as everyone thought he was; the meadow a ways off from the village that surrounded him in tranquility. His heart felt as though it was being crumpled when he thought of leaving all of this forever.

On the other hand, maybe he wasn't getting a mission; he might just be in trouble for something. His mind started to race. What had he done wrong? He couldn't think of anything. Sasuke and Sakura were also called to the Hokage with him, so he figured it was more likely to be a mission.

'It might not even _be_ a high class mission. It might just be some easy thing that'll be over quicker than I can snap my fingers.' Naruto thought, trying to be optimistic. He found it hard to be.

Naruto pushed the front doors and held them open for the rest of his team. They walked down the marble hall, passing desks with work scattered across them. They passed the entrances of hallways, and the doorways leading to separate offices. When the group saw the door with a golden plate that had 'Hokage; Tsunade' engraved on it, they went inside. (Sorry if Tsunade seems out of character, but I haven't seen her in the show yet. Oh, and to clear something up- Gaara's not the Kazekage yet.)

"Ah, Team Seven!" The Hokage swung around in her chair, smiling at him. "Glad you're here. All of you; sit, please." The chairs screeched slightly on the tiled floor as the group adjusted them. When they were all seated, Tsunade began to talk.

"As you know, we don't yet have very strong ties with other lands." Tsunade sighed. "I've had a very bad feeling over the past week or so that something bad is going to happen. Our lookouts have told me that they've seen some people leave Sunagakure.

"Surprisingly, those three were Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro. I assume you've gotten to know them over the while they were here for the tournament?" She raised an eyebrow. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke nodded in unison, still confused. So what if they were leaving their city?

"Our guards have told us that they haven't gone back home yet. It's been over a week."

All was silent, until Naruto piped up. "Yeah, well what if they're on a high-class mission? Those go on for a reee_eeee_ally long time, you know!"

Tsunade entwined her fingers together, and placed her hands on the desk in front of her, seemingly full of patience.

"That's exactly it. If they're on a high ranked mission, what would they be doing? Usually, Sunagakure doesn't need missions like that unless something is terribly wrong, like they were getting attacked, or planning a raid; something of the sort."

"Why would they want to do that?" Sakura frowned.

Sasuke's eyes flashed.

"They may want to take over Konohagakure."

Naruto jumped up and stood, his fists clenched. "They wouldn't! The Sand Ninja know how much we would kick their butts if they decided to take over this place!" With his little outburst, he added, "Of course, no offense to them. But with all of our Ninja teams here, they couldn't gain control even if they tried."

"On to the assignments." Tsunade said, bringing out a scroll. "I'm entrusting you guys on this high class mission." She handed it over, and Sakura plucked at the seal of the scroll. When it unrolled slightly, she uncurled the rest and read it. Tsunade explained it aloud as well.

"I hope you all can travel quickly," The Hokage stated, "because I first want you to visit the Kazekage. The trip to Sunagakure under these weather conditions will be fairly easy, until a storm arrives. I've heard that there is rather bad weather in other lands, and with the wind these days, it could blow over here any second. Be prepared.

"Once you have received enough information from the Kazekage, piece it together. If he says they're on a high class mission, but won't tell you much about it, I want you to try and locate the Sand Ninja. Do not intervene in their mission if it seems unimportant to Konohagakure, but if it suggests anything about this land, I want you to stop them."

Naruto had his hands clasped behind his head as he walked. He stared at the sky, and then to each of his team members. He stretched, and then yawned.

"I'm going to head over to eat some Ramen!" Naruto patted his stomach and grinned sheepishly. "I'm so hungry, I could make that place millions with one stop; if I had unlimited money, of course!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, and averted her vision back to the scroll. "It says we're supposed to leave soon after we receive this, so hurry up, Naruto." She handed the scroll to Kakashi, who put it in one of the various pockets he owned.

"Like that's ever been a problem!" Naruto exclaimed, laughing.

"Everybody; meet up here in an hour." With that, the sensei disappeared in a puff of smoke, which set off the three young ninja running to do what they needed to.

---

Sand swirled on the floor in various directions, like a growing maze, like instantly growing thorny vines. It was silent but deadly. One of the ninja, who was standing as if frozen, tilted its head down slowly and stiffly. It spotted the sand, and quickly pulled out an extremely long kunai. The other ninja followed suit, pulling out similar weapons. The two ninja turned to face the redheaded captive, only to find he was gone.

Ninja forming the ring around Kankuro and their leader were now looking around ominously for the threat. Gaara appeared in one spot, disappeared, and then appeared again elsewhere. Sand swirled and smudged below the steps of the redhead, keeping time with his sudden movements.

Shifting, appearing on different sides of the ninja, took a lot of energy out of him. But still, he didn't quit. A jutsu symbol was formed by Gaara's hands, as they were clamped together in a special pose. His eyes held the coldness of hate, his movements staccato and silent. His sandaled feet would just touch down on the sand, before he was in an entirely different location.

A silent ninja wrapped his mutated fingers around the handle of his weapon. He pulled it out of its sheath, which caused an ominous metallic sound. A ninja holding a long, curving kunai followed the uneasily detected movements, gripping the kunai in a ready position. The ninja's eyes strayed icily, and then gleamed with a predator's experience as the kunai swished with powerful speed into the air in front of him.

Gaara's sand whooshed upwards into a solid wall between the redhead and the demonic ninja. The tip of the kunai was sticking out of the sand wall. Why hadn't the sand defended against it fully? The sand dissipated after stopping the harsh blow, the grains falling back down lifelessly in the mix. Gaara gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowing dangerously. He began to feel the sand shift under him, telling him that it was okay to run. Gaara's eyes snapped open, his mind at full alert. He listened intensely. A faint sound, suddenly growing in crescendo until it was clearly loud. It didn't take much time to register what it was. He could also hear other sounds exactly like it.

Gaara outstretched his hands, bending his fingers out as if a walking zombie. He then raised his arms and wrists to a higher angle. The sand swirling underneath him jolted up to life, crackling. It continued the movement of Gaara, rising up. It made a wall. Gaara looked over his shoulder, instantly realizing that he was in trouble. The redhead turned his right outstretched arm one-hundred eighty degrees to his opposite side, the sand following suit. The sand wall extended, and following his pattern, stretched into a complete cylinder around him. Gaara kneeled, and bent. He clasped his hands together with slight difficulty, as if there was an invisible force there; the sand walls imitating, and curving into a sphere shield. Darkness surrounded him. He then clasped his hands in the same chakra position as before, so that the sand would hold their defense.

He heard the loud whistling, and heard the sound the kunai made when they hit the sand barrier. There was a metallic clatter, and he knew that the numerous kunai had fallen. He opened his eyes, and saw puncture holes in the shield. His face filled with anger, before turning icily cold. Angry silence was showcased in his eyes. Faster than a blink of an eye, the sand was crumbling quickly, forming heaps of golden powder where Gaara used to be. The sand shot up once more, and out stepped Gaara, fully sculpted from sand.

The sand Gaara stared at its prey. Sand drifted around it, and some grains fell off of the recently constructed form. Its hands were raised, and they clasped together in yet another sign. Sand fell from the contact of the hit. A nearby ninja reeled back his arm on a slant, and let a kunai fly at the target. The doppelganger's expression seemed almost bloodthirsty. The sand underneath the figure began to dance upwards, and then splashed out violently like a sea storm. The kunai was caught under the grainy tide. The ninja ran forth, fist formed, raising his arm. With the flick of a wrist, the sand was rushing in towards the enemy. A swift leap into the air, and the ninja had dodged the sand. The doppelgangers arm did a slapping motion, and a huge, sudden wall of sand came crashing down. Two ninja were hit and knocked away by the attack.

The sand raised and blocked four kunai thrown. It also blocked kicks and punches, but the defense seemed to be getting weaker. The doppelganger's arms hovered in front of itself, bent, and then it unfolded them wide. The sand silently recoiled back and then exploded; scattering, attacking and pinning the enemies. A fist then flew at the sand Gaara's head, but an arm broke the landing. Another doppelganger of Gaara's had taken the blow, the sandy arm that was used to block now broken into miniscule grains. The sand reformed the arm, and then there were two mirrors of the redhead. The sand beside them jolted up, and another appeared. So did another one. By the next five seconds, twenty sand clones were standing icily, scattered across the cave.

Kankuro panted, and forced himself to get up. Blood dripped from his nose and from a huge gash on his head, and he had numerous bruises. The older brother came to a sore stand, and raised his arms in a block. He was beginning to see a dark fog cover his vision. The ominous leader recoiled, drawing his clawed hand back. The claws rushed forward, and Kankuro got ready for the blow.

The claws didn't strike. A wall of sand stood between them. The wall diminished, and from the sand stepped the original Gaara. He scowled fiercely, his arms crossed.

"Move." He stated, nodding his head in the direction of Temari, not taking his eyes off of his new opponent. "My sand doppelgangers will take care of the rest of the ninja." Kankuro hesitated, and then stealthily disappeared to where Temari laid.

The creature standing not one meter from him seemed to grin sadistically. Gaara glared back, an icy look upon his face. A low rumble of a growl erupted from the creature. It lurched forwards again, letting out a howl. Sand blocked it. Gaara stood with his arms crossed, concentrating on the movements of the sand.

'Hopefully, he'll run out of chakra and energy soon, since he was so busy beating up Kankuro.'

Punches, claw attacks, kicks, and slams were all blocked by the sand. Gaara kept his mind focused on the fight; however, he began to notice that his control on the doppelgangers was slipping. 'I shouldn't be running out of chakra so fast,' He thought, feeling slightly frantic. He recoiled when a clawed hand broke through his sand defense. It tore through the sand strongly, not giving the grains time to stop it. Another hand pierced through, and also began to dismantle the shield.

Gaara gritted his teeth. Why was this happening? His defense was always good enough to block out the enemy, so why wasn't it doing that now? He was beginning to feel exhausted, but didn't let his guard down. He clamped his fists tighter, hoping the sand would listen to him.

"**Sabaku Kyu!"**

The floating particles began to enclose the enemy's wrists. The sand imploded, but the enemy's hands were no longer there. The sand clamped down on nothing, and returned back to its floating, defensive state. Gaara looked all around him, not seeing the figure he was fighting.

"_You missed." _A chilling voice seemed to speak right in his ear. In his shock, Gaara turned around quickly. Nobody was there.

He scanned the room past the floating particles to see where his enemy had gone, only to see Kankuro in a defensive stance; one of the few kunai he actually carried situated in his grip. Temari, who was still recovering from that hellish trip, also clutched a kunai in her shaking hand. Gaara's five remaining sand doppelgangers surrounded them facing outwards, like a shield. From what he could see, the agile ninja that he had defeated moments ago were back up with a vengeance, easily obliterating his doppelgangers back into the sand they were formed from.

'My doppelgangers have no chakra left in them. Temari and Kankuro will have to fend for themselves until I can find a way to beat their leader.' Gaara thought bitterly, beginning to turn around.

'_Look out behind you, brat!' _A voice snapped in his head. '_Look at what trap you've situated yourself in!'_ Gaara turned around fully, to find a kunai pressed to his throat.

"_Game over." _Gaara could see the leader's ominous eyes. He could see malevolence behind them.

Gaara's head suddenly dropped downwards, the kunai cutting slightly into his neck. There was silence for a moment. It was almost as if Gaara was… sleeping?

His head snapped up, a crazed grin on his face. His eyes were completely black. He now had yellow irises with black diamonds shooting through them around his pupil; Shukaku's eyes.

"But the fun's only started!"

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**x.x That wasn't as long as my last chapter, but I think it was long enough, ne? About nine pages!**

**I kinda got bored writing this, so if you find it boring, I'll understand. I started writing this chapter a looong time ago, but I had writer's block, so I stopped for a good month or so. I'm sorry to those who wanted an update quickly! **

_**Oh, and I also noticed that Gaara was OOC, since he appeared in the show. So if he seems different later on, that's probably why. Sorry!**_

**There's also some confusion with the Kazekage that I put in the story a while ago… I'll try and fix it. I'll either go back and edit it, or just write something in the future chapters to make it make sense. :Sweatdrops: I'll notify you in an author note if I go back and edit something.**

_**Reviews are very much appreciated, by the way :D**_

**Phoenix-Roar**


	5. Shattered Glass

**Before I start, I want to give a HUGE thank you to "****Naitachal666****" and "Anonymous Flame" for reviewing! I really appreciate the advice you gave me, Naitachal666! Thanks a lot! I'm really glad that you like my story, Anonymous Flame! The inspiration you gave me was really helpful!**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the anime/manga "Naruto"; Masashi Kishimoto owns "Naruto". Any trademarks, characters, storylines, plots, etc. from the anime/manga "Naruto" belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I would also like to say that ratings, page formats, chapter scroll bars, etc., (this goes for all of my stories and this one as well) that my stories are using are all thanks to the website this story is posted on._**

**_---SPOILERS AHEAD---_**

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---Chapter 5---

---Shattered Glass---

---Normal POV---

His head snapped up, a crazed grin on his face. His eyes were completely black. He now had yellow irises with black diamonds shooting through them around his pupil; Shukaku's eyes.

"But the fun's only started!"

Before the fast reflexes of the leader had even sensed anything, it was sent flying. It rolled backwards to break its fall, and then it stumbled forward slightly, getting its footing quickly. Gaara had thrown a punch. "…You're not tired yet, I can see…" The misty, monotone voice reverberated off of the hollow walls. "…All the more fun..."

The shadow of the creature splayed on the ground suddenly multiplied into five. They shot up into the air and swirled. The shadows seemed to melt into the figure as it stood; a new, darkly aura forming around it. The absorbed shadows almost seemed like… chakra?

The possessed Gaara blinked, only to open his eyes to stare into the worsened glowing pits of hell that were the creature's eyes. A spray of sand shot up against a punch, and another, and another. A roar from the being rattled Gaara's senses, and pain surged through his arm. The creature had slashed him. Sand blocked a low kick and captured its ankle, and the redhead dodged quickly around the wall and sand swirled around him, ready to attack. The being wasn't there. The sand wall crumpled.

A familiar whooshing sound caught Gaara's attention, and he turned his head slightly to see. A wall of sand had appeared behind him, forming accordingly to block the kunai being thrown. The kunai had a ghostly aura which was that of the leader's. It was the impulse of the Shukaku that was making him move now. 'He probably sensed that I was running out of chakra.' Gaara thought, feeling entirely exhausted of the valuable energy. The redhead mentally let the Shukaku take over, getting lost in unconsciousness. The figure appeared in front of him once more, kunai in its jaggedly formed hand. It shot towards the Shukaku-possessed-Gaara. The kunai's blade crumbled apart as the Shukaku bit the blade with rather sharp fangs that had mutated from Gaara's. It seemed illogical to bite the kunai, but the Shukaku was in an animalistic mode. It seemed that's what it would take to bring the creature down.

The redhead's face twitched into a sneer, fissures running finely along his face and arms. The already thin pupils that the Shukaku owned shrunk venomously. Leaping forward at the being, the redhead prepared to strike.

Pain ran though his side as he was knocked to the rocky floor. He skidded slightly, before coming to a stop. Pushing himself up, he looked for the source. A sharp blow to his back caused him to roll the other way. He got up quickly, retrieving kunai from their holders. One in each hand, he looked in every direction. Sand particles floated around his form. The beastly creature appeared in front of him, shadows crawling over his form and around the ground at its feet. The Shukaku slashed forwards with his kunai, hitting the air where the beast used to be. Getting hit a couple more times, his rage began to boil. The whooshing sound of the creature shifting spots amazingly fast rang in his ears again; he twisted, coiling his arm up, releasing the kunai like a slingshot.

And hit the creature's shadow.

A roar from the creature shook the giant rocky cavern, echoing. The doppelgangers had held out as long as they could, but now crumbled into sand piles. They were overpowered by the ninja. Kankuro was standing beside Karasu, his marionette. Wires made of chakra were wrapped around Kankuro's fingers, ready to control Karasu. Temari had finally found the strength to stand up forcefully, slouching from the pain that still lingered. She had unfolded her fan and stood, waiting.

Breathing heavily, the Shukaku turned to face the creature recuperating on the ground. Shukaku's massive chakra supply had almost nothing in it either. Gaara had to borrow much of it, using the sand in nearly every attack he made. Feeling exhausted, he hoped that the creature would stay down long enough for them to get out of there. It was very clear to him with the aura of their chakras that this was not a place to stay.

He began to move swiftly to the side, the Shukaku putting all of the strength he had left into speed. The ninja looked up at the sudden outburst of action, letting their guards down for a split second. Kankuro nodded, and moved Karasu to pick up Temari. They began to flee after the possessed Gaara. Shukaku suddenly stopped, his abrupt halt kicking up debris and dust. The followers also stopped, ninja immediately coming after them.

The leader of the hellish place stood in front of the entrance, glaring a deadly glare at the Shukaku like a basilisk. The dark aura around it grew ominously, as spidery, bony wings sprouted from its back. They unfolded quickly and spread, so that the entrance was completely blocked. Its shadow multiplied into five once more and formed a hexagon around the trapped Shukaku. The aura around the figure grew to cover it entirely, so it looked like a giant shadow. From the five shadows emerged figures exactly like the masked leader. The six shadows spread their bat like wings and swooped in on the redheaded figure.

The Shukaku saw nothing but darkness when he lost control over his senses.

---

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi were jumping along the great branches of trees in the Konoha forest. They were on their way to Sunagakure to ask the Kazekage about where the Sand ninja had gone.

**(IMPORTANT A/N: I've decided that I'm going to edit the second chapter; I'm going to change the Kazekage to Gaara's father, so that it makes sense.)**

Kakashi had been ordered to travel with them. Although team seven was quite skilled already, the Hokage had made him go along too. Naruto figured that she had a powerful sense of things, and it wasn't smart to question her motives, since she was almost always right about such things.

After about a half an hour, each of the team jumped down from the very last trees. Meadows stretched afar, before the land would get rocky and sandy. They started across the grassy fields quickly.

Naruto hoped that the trip to Sunagakure would be peaceful and quick; he had a very bad feeling that something was going to happen. He seemed to get that feeling a lot these days, and that wasn't a good sign.

Creeping up to meet the traveling group were thick, dark clouds.

---

Gaara groaned as he sat up, his limbs feeling stiff from the fight. He felt very tired, his chakra still scarce. Blinking, but not getting rid of the blurriness in his vision, he looked around. He could see the outlines of Kankuro and Temari. Karasu lay in the corner, the marionette's form broken. His brother and sister were still unconscious.

The redhead remembered everything that the Shukaku did in the fight, and wondered how he got here. He stood, and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. Although he couldn't see much, he could understand the surroundings.

They were in a crevice that was fissured into the cave wall. Dark chakra sealed the entrance to their imprisonment, but it could be seen through with some effort.

The walls were rock. He slid down the side of a wall, and rested his head to his knees. Just thinking about the venomous creature that he and Shukaku had battled sent shivers up his spine.

'Hey.' Gaara thought mentally, closing his eyes.

'_What do you want, brat.'_

'Why did you lend me your chakra back there?'

'_I wasn't doing it for you; I was doing it to relieve myself. You don't know what discomfort is until you're a spirit who's crammed inside somebody's head.'_

'Right. Any bright ideas on how to get out of here?'

'_We can't blast our way through, right?' _

'The rock is completely solid, and the chakra seems too powerful to let such an act get through.'

'_Then I've got nothing else to say to you.' _

Both Gaara and the Shukaku had to restore their chakra. Although he still despised Gaara, he finally let him sleep. But that didn't mean that the Shukaku had to sleep. He crept into Gaara's unconscious mind, and set loose the worst nightmares that he could think of. After all, he _was_ an evil spirit. And he quite enjoyed doing what he was made for.

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**:Yawns: I hope that chapter wasn't as boring as the previous ones. I didn't make this chapter as long as usual. **

**As I've said earlier in an author note, I'm going to edit the second chapter, so please check back. **

**_PUH-LEASEEE_ review! It really helps. Truly, it does. Really. Honestly.**

**:D . **

**Anyway. Thanks for reading. I hope to have the next chapter up soon, but we'll see. **

**Phoenix-Roar**


	6. Burried Shards

**:Appears in puff of ninja smoke: Here's the next chapter. I really appreciate the reviews I received. Thank you all so much!**

**Warning: This chapter contains swearing.**

**I used referance from_ Wikipedia _to some things in this chapter. (For example: Sasuke's attack moves). That site really helps a lot!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the anime/manga "Naruto"; Masashi Kishimoto owns "Naruto". Any trademarks, characters, storylines, plots, etc. from the anime/manga "Naruto" belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I would also like to say that ratings, page formats, chapter scroll bars, etc., (this goes for all of my stories and this one as well) that my stories are using are all thanks to **

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

---Normal POV---

The grassy terrain quickly transformed under Team Seven's feet as they traveled towards Sunagakure. Hours had passed by uninterrupted as the sandy country became closer.

Becoming tired from the quick traveling on foot, the group of ninja decided to stop for a break.

The vibrant blonde, Naruto, pulled out a bag of chips from his small carrying bag and dug into it happily. The group sat on a few rocks that were scattered on the ground.

"We have a very broad situation on our hands." Sasuke said monotonously. "If the Kazekage doesn't give us any suggestive hints leading to the Sand Nin, we could be stuck looking for them for weeks. That is, if they haven't arrived before we get there."

"In addition to what you're saying… I know this is wrong to say, but… perhaps the Kazekage will lie to us!" Sakura said.

"But he's the Kazekage. He wouldn't lie unless need be." Naruto retorted.

"…And this is exactly our mission." Kakashi added. "You guys get a few hours of rest. I'll keep watch."

"We'll rotate shifts." Sasuke said.

"Jeez! Can't you just swallow your damn pride for once?" Naruto scoffed under his breath before sitting behind a rock to sleep.

---

_Naruto looked around at the scenery around him. Buildings, houses, and stores surrounded him. Silhouettes of people passed him, fading in and out of his view. "Am I back in Konoha?" Naruto muttered to himself, looking downwards. He decided that he wasn't when he saw sand scattered across the cobblestone pathway. Not knowing what he was doing, he noticed the miscellaneous figures going in one direction. Clueless, the adolescence followed them._

_Without warning, the blonde in the orange jumpsuit was caught in the current of the crowd. He could hardly move as he was propelled forward in the midst of the group. He was shoved outwards, landing face first on the rocky path._

_He groaned, rubbing the side of his face that he landed on. A shadow overcastted him, and he looked up, hand still covering his scrape. "Huh?" He asked, not quite able to see the figure against the sun._

_Naruto noted the figure's slightly spiky, short hair. The intimidating figure had his arms crossed. It reminded him of… _

_"Gaara?"_

_The figure lifted his foot. Naruto couldn't believe that he didn't notice, but the figure had grown into a giant. Naruto's eyes widened and his heart jumped to his throat. The giant Gaara began to put his foot down, intending to squish Naruto like a helpless bug. It seemed like forever he had to wait, but yet he couldn't move. He was frozen in fear. The blonde squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the painful impact._

---

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he flung himself into a sitting position. It took him several seconds to adjust. He still had his hand plastered onto his face. Drool ran down his chin.

Naruto removed his hand, and mopped up the drool with the back of his sleeve.

"Oi, Naruto! You're up! I was just going to wake you." Sakura said. Naruto grunted in response. "Alright, I'm up, I'm up."

He rose to his feet slowly, looking dazedly at the scenery around him. 'What a strange dream.' He thought to himself. In truth, Gaara still scared him out of his wits. He had caused a lot of fear throughout many. Naruto wondered if he had changed at all from his sadistic ways.

Kakashi and Sasuke emerged from seemingly nowhere, and without further ado, they were on their way.

---

_Gaara backed up quickly to dodge tails that were whipping past him. The red head looked upwards to see what the commotion was, and was met face to face with an enormous demon. Gales of wind that were created by the tails were sharp against his skin and made him bleed._

_Gaara stared at the crimson blobs on his arm, and wondered feverishly why his sand armor hadn't protected him. It was then that he realized that the demon was the Kyuubi. _

_It roared deafeningly. The deformed shapes of the newly discovered ninja appeared behind it and on top of it, but the Kyuubi didn't seem to mind._

_The Kyuubi snapped at him with its long teeth. Gaara managed to dodge the attack. Kunai were piercing him, making him recoil back out of their aim. _

_The red head backed into something solid. He turned around, only to find something all too familiar. A roar erupted from both the Kyuubi and the sandy monster behind Gaara, the Shukaku. The Shukaku raised a clawed limb, and flung it down to crush him._

---

Gaara awoke from the atrocious nightmare startled and shaken. "…Shukaku." He muttered under his breath. He could feel the demon's smug mood. "I hate you."

_'Ooooh, some strong words there, brat.'_

Gaara flared his nostrils in frustration, and tried to block out the vile monster. He walked towards the entrance, trying to see through the dark chakra that imprisoned them.

A dark flash caught his eye. He concentrated on the flash, and he made out a circular rim-like object, like a halo. There were a couple of them lying amidst the same spot on the floor. He wouldn't have noticed it had he not looked hard enough. He frowned, recalling the ninja wearing the same things around their limbs.

He looked towards his brother and sister, but found them still unconscious. He walked back to the corner of the cave, leaned back against the wall, and looped his arms around his knees. A flimsy sigh escaped his lips as he continued to endure the Shukaku's mental torment.

---

Naruto rubbed his eyes contentedly as they walked down the sandy cobblestone pathways of Sunagakure. People were doing their daily business, not paying any mind to the Leaf Ninja.

"The Kazekage's office is this way." Kakashi said, leading the way. "Be respectful to him. Remember, you represent Konoha."

At long last, they approached a tall building. Entering into the lobby, they found the stairwell, and began to climb it.

Kakashi notified the secretary of their arrival, and knocked on the door gently.

"Come in."

The office was tidy. The floor was made entirely of marble. Bookcases were full of scrolls and thick folders, documents, and informative-looking books. Sculptures of Chinese dragons were carved out of jade. Charms hung from the ceiling in specific places, mostly around the Kazekage's main working desk.

Sitting behind the desk was the ruler of the land of wind and sand, sifting though the documents in front of him. He wore what all the Kages did; a white robe, with a white hat placed on his head. Cloth draped down from the back half of the hat onto his shoulders. The kanji for "wind" was embroidered in red onto the front of the hat.

Bowing politely, Team Seven seated themselves in front of him.

"What brings Konoha Ninja to Sunagakure?" He asked, looking at them from underneath the rim of the ruler's hat.

"We would like information on the most recent missions you have issued, Kazekage-sama." Kakashi said.

The Kazekage said nothing, while pouring a cup of water for himself. He took a sip, and lowered the cup slightly.

"Why would you require such information?"

"We found some Sand Ninja in Konoha, but they would not tell us what they were doing." Kakashi said.

'Kakashi's quick on his feet at lying!' Naruto thought amusedly, knowing that was not the reason why he wanted to see the records.

"How strange. I don't recall sending any ninja there." He said monotonously.

Everything seemed to stand still, as Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke held their breath nervously.

"…Even so, I will answer your question by showing you the missions scroll."

The figure stood, and walked to a bookcase. The three teenagers let out their breath in one big sigh. He scanned through it, and then pulled out a big scroll. He handed it to the silver-haired Jounin.

Naruto looked around the office. He blinked in surprise when he saw two security guards by the door he hadn't noticed before. They had black metal bands wrapped around their limbs, their hitae-ate wrapped around their arms, which were crossed.

The Kazekage motioned the ninja towards him. "Would you refill their canteens? I'm sure they're empty from the trip through the desert." He said. Each member bowed and thanked him. The security ninja took their canteens away. Once they were brought back the team excused themselves and left.

"What did it say?" Naruto asked eagerly, once they were a ways away from the building, and not surrounded by many people.

"Nothing about the three." Kakashi answered. "Our only option now is to find them." He began to walk.

Suna's sun beat down on them. Sakura and Naruto took long drinks from their canteens, but Sasuke decided to save most of his just in case, and only took a sip. Kakashi had went off to drink some of his water elsewhere. When Sakura asked why he had done so, Kakashi simply replied, "You guys have never seen my face. Why should I show it to you now?"  
The answer made all three sweat drop, and they continued out of the country.

Sasuke was lost in his own thoughts. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the thinning streets thoughtfully. 'Something's not right here. These people are frightened... But of what?'

---

Shuffling sounds snapped Gaara from his daze, and the red head looked around to see the outline of Kankuro moving. His brother sat up and rubbed his head. "What the hell?" He muttered.

"Kankuro." Gaara said, catching said person's attention. The older sibling stood, and shuffled his way over to the youngest of the three.

"Do you know what happened?" He asked, plopping down beside Gaara.

"They used our exhaustion to trap us."

"Do you think we can escape from here?"

"Shukaku says it's not worth trying."

Both were silent. The affects of the darkness were already affecting their hope. It seemed unwise to escape, since the ninja were so strong. The pathway that led them here would be very hard to trace back, since it broke off in different branches.

Having nothing else to do, and to keep his mind off of the cold, Kankuro collected the dislocated parts of the marionette Karasu, and proceeded to put it back together. Gaara paused for a moment to _actually consider helping,_ and decided to since it would take his mind off of the Shukaku's annoying bickering.

_'Whoa! I can't believe you're actually **helping** somebody! The world is coming to an end! Run for your lives!'_ Shukaku teased. Gaara ignored the comment, and began to lock pieces together.

Temari groaned, and propped herself up on her elbows. She still looked pale and scratched up from the terrible fall she had experienced.

"Are you okay, Temari?" Kankuro asked.

"Yeah, I think I'll be fine…" She said, looking around hastily. "Have either of you seen my fan?" Kankuro shook his head, and Gaara said nothing. The oldest sibling sighed. "Great…" She scooted over to them, to see what they were doing. "How come Karasu's in here and not m-" "Shh!" Kankuro said, shooting her a glare.

"Maybe they left it in here by accident, but Karasu's probably our only chance at escaping, so don't say anything; they might be able to hear you!" He said, whispering.

The three of them worked on rebuilding Karasu. Few parts were completely destroyed, so they managed to get most of it completed, even though most, if not all of the parts were weakened and beaten up.

Gaara could hardly see what he was doing, but knew it was important for them to finish building Karasu as soon as possible. He picked up three pieces to work on. As he tried to join the hinges between the pieces, he got lost in his thoughts. He thought about the halo shaped things, the ninja that wore the bands, and the chakra sealing them in. Suddenly, he froze, staring at the pieces in his hands.

"Gaara, what is it?" Kankuro asked, noticing Gaara's pause.

"I have an idea."

---

Naruto traveled quickly across the terrain beside Kakashi. The blonde haired adolescence and the silver haired adult traveled in the front of the group, while Sakura and Sasuke took the back. They had been traveling for two hours since leaving Sunagakure.

Naruto concentrated on other things to keep his mind off of exhaustion. He looked at the scenery, which was made up of sand. He looked up at the sky, staring at the clouds. He then began to notice how thick the clouds were, how they hovered almost directly over them in the sky, and how they were darkening heavily. The blonde felt a twinge of worry in the back of his head, and then began to slow down, holding his arms out to signal the rest of the group to follow.

Soon, the group had stopped moving entirely. They stood still, catching their breath.

"What is it, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Sorry for stopping, but I think we should find a place to hide soon. I have a super bad feeling about that!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing towards the dark area of sky.

Kakashi nodded, understanding. "If it's a thunderstorm, we'll be the first things struck down, since we're the tallest things around. We could go back to Sunagakure, which isn't too far, but judging by how close the clouds are, we'd never make it in time before the storm hits." Kakashi paused. "Any suggestions?"

"We're not safe unless we're underground," Sasuke muttered. "So I suggest we keep going. Keep lookout for any place that seems safe to rest in. There should be some, since many animals have to burry underground to survive in the desert."

"Brilliant!" Sakura chimed, but went ignored by Sasuke. The group continued traveling.

It had been about an hour, and Team Seven had not stopped again. Exhaustion was clouded over each ninja. Rain had started to pour upon them; lightly at first, but then in buckets.

Sakura's bright green eyes dodged from side to side, desperately hoping for a place to stop. Her bangs were getting stuck to her face because of the rain. She lifted her hands to brush them out of her vision.

Rocks had gradually grown in one particular area, and now it was a great, jagged hill. Many small tunnels and crevices were dug into it by animals that were in the same situation as they were.

Sakura slowed down, stopping the rest of the team for the second time. "There might be a small cave that has room enough for all of us in that clump of rocks, so I think we should split up and search the entire thing!" The pink-haired girl suggested, panting from the non-stop traveling.

"You're right, Sakura. Don't lose sight of each other, though." Kakashi said. He seemed slightly tired as well, his revealed eye scanning the area.

'Why do we have to keep an eye on each other? That's strange... It's almost like he can sense something that we can't.' Sasuke thought suspiciously, but went to search anyway. The four of them scattered across the miniature, rocky mountain.

-

Sakura was on the highest part of the mountain, looking for a sign of some sort that there was an entrance to a cave. She was surprised when she noted she hadn't caught her breath yet. She had begun to feel exhausted a while back, but it wasn't as bad as it was now. She glanced to the left, and further down, Naruto was there. He was digging through the rocks in various places.

Figuring that there was no entrance on top, she started to proceed her way down.

Sakura paused when she heard an unordinary sound. She couldn't place it. She frowned and turned, looking each way. There was nothing that she could see.

The pink-haired teenager put a hand to her throat. She still hadn't caught her breath, and it was starting to worry her. In fact, it was almost harder to breathe than before! Knowing that something was definitely wrong, her eyes darted around, looking desperately for a team member. She knew Naruto was searching to the left of her and not too far away, but now she could barely see him!

"Help!" She cried loudly, hoping he would hear her. She sounded quiet in her own ears. Her head began to hurt, and black fog seeped into her vision. She tried again to call for help, but she couldn't seem to make a sound. The last thing she saw was dark wings that seemed to loom venomously over her.

-

Naruto was searching near the top. He looked up and spotted Sakura, and saw Sasuke looking a ways away at the bottom. He stepped carefully around, making sure not to step on loose rocks. The fall wouldn't be fatal since it wasn't really high up, but it would still hurt likehell if he didn't land on his feet.He pulled loose some rocks, but didn't find any place that they would all fit in. His muscles were completely exhausted, and he didn't know why. The blonde adjusted his hitae-ate on his forehead, and sat down on a boulder that bulged from the side of the mountain.

Naruto rubbed his eyes, a headache pounding inside his skull. He had a confused expression on his face when he found that he still couldn't breathe properly. "What the..?" He said. His voice was scratchy. He shook his head, hoping that would clear it all away. His eyelids drooped, and he fought to stay conscious.

"Help!"

'That's Sakura's voice!' He thought, forcing himself to look upwards. There was a strange whooshing sound, and then it was silent. He got up on shaky legs, and grabbed onto the side of the mountain for support. 'What's wrong with me?' He thought feverishly, then looked around for Sasuke and Kakashi, but found nobody. The sky was completely black now, and lightning shot down from the sky close to where they were.

'Crap…' Naruto thought, his sight becoming hazy.

'Maybe I'm just thirsty. This heat can get to anybody.' The blonde reached for his canteen and found it empty.

'Double crap…'

The same whooshing sound repeated itself, and he saw shadowy wings before he passed out.

-

Kakashi walked around the backside of the small hill, seeing nothing that they could hide under. "This is bad." He said to himself. "There isn't shelter anywhere here." The silver-haired Jounin sighed. He hoped that his team would find something.

"Help!"

Instantly registering the word and who said it, Kakashi appeared at the top of the hill in a cloud of smoke. There was a whooshing sound, as if something was flying close by. He unlocked his hands from the disappearing jutsu symbol, and looked for the pink haired girl. He covered the entire surface area of the top of the mountain, but there was no sign of Sakura. He heard another whoosh, and he turned to face the sound. Nobody was on that side either.

'Now I know I'm right, but I should've trusted my senses earlier! Someone has been following us!' Kakashi thought, pulling his hitae-ate upwards from over his second eye quickly. A scar ran vertically down his eye. His eyes revealed red irises with three black marks each surrounding the pupils.

"**Sharingan!**"

With his new view, he looked for chakra signatures. He saw many areas that were strange, and he concentrated on them.

As soon as he focused, he could see the chakra. It was everywhere; the dark chakra flooded the entire hill, and the desert around it. It pulsated in the air, and it even surrounded… himself? He had no time to contemplate on it.

"Argh!" Kakashi clasped his hands over his eyes, feeling pain pool in them. 'W-what's happening?' He thought, feeling the pain seep into his mind. The headache was massive. Letting his hand drop from his eye, he grasped the ground in his clutches.

Both of his Sharingan eyes were clouded over with dark chakra. They pulsated. Kakashi panted, standing upright. He could still see, but it was so hazy he couldn't understand what he was looking at. His breathing hitched, and his eyes widened as something pierced through him. 'I didn't… sense anything. I let my team down...' He let out a long sigh as he passed out, seeing dark wings that were the same colour as the chakra.

-

Sasuke circled the bottom of the rocks, also looking for a hidden place. Not seeing anything, he sighed hopelessly. He began to walk away from the hill to wait for his team, but a hole caught his eye. He turned back, walking quickly to it. It was surrounded by rocks. The raven-haired boy moved some rocks away, and stared into it. He couldn't hear anything moving inside, so it was empty. It seemed big enough for all four of them, maybe more.

The clouds wept heavily upon Sasuke, who was already soaked to the bone. 'How can it rain so much in the desert?' Hethought.He felt a shiver run through his system, and stood. He looked around for Sakura, Naruto, or Kakashi. Strangely, he couldn't find anyone.

"Help!"

'That was Sakura!' Sasuke thought mentally, climbing the hill quickly. Nobody was there. He went down again, and searched the opposite side. Nobody was there either. There were two strange whooshing sounds which he distinguished as something flying around. He then heard Kakashi.

"Sharingan!"

'Kakashi! Something's got to be wrong…' He thought, and then heard a cry of pain. There was another whooshing sound. He climbed to the top again to find nothing. There was absolutely nobody left around him. He was alone in the desert. Or was he?

'I need to find out where they've gone!' He thought, his dark irises turning red, just like Kakashi's.

"**Sharingan!**" He scanned the air, seeing the same chakra signatures that Kakashi did. There was so much chakra in the air that it made him dizzy. Still, he continued to try to decipher it, to locate the being causing all of the chaos. Sasuke breathed in sharply as he ducked an attack of long, sharp kunai.

"What-" He had no time to think as more kunai was thrown at him. He hit the oncoming objects with his own kunai. He pulled out more from his pockets, and held one in each hand. He stood on guard. Finally, the figure appeared in front of him.

It was moving too fast to see clearly, but it had giant wings made of the same dark chakra pulsating everywhere.

Sasuke let out a grunt as he just managed to dodge it. He stood still, waiting for the being to circle back and attack him. 'Ready… Now!' He thought, and then began to proceed with his plan. "**Lion Combo!**" He kicked the winged enemy into the air, and then proceeded to throw more kicks at it. It fell to the ground, and Sasuke delt the final blow of his technique. He let out a sigh. The figure lay on the ground before him.

Suddenly, it was gone. "What!" He exclaimed angrily, looking about for it. He was suddenly pinned to the ground, immobilized by the creature. He stared at it through his Sharingan eyes, lookingat the being's face. It was entirely mutated. Its bony but sharp claws dug into his shoulders. A ghostly growl reached Sasuke's ears, and he tried to get the figure off of him.

Sasuke maneuvered quickly, and kicked it. He elbowed it harshly, giving him a small moment. He performed all of the signs necessary.

"**Fire Style – Art of the Phoenix Flower!**" He said, inhaling a deep breath, and then blowing fire from the sign formed by his hand. Fireballs shot towards the figure, and it didn't have time to react. It was struck by the fire, and it recoiled back painfully.

Sasuke got to his feet faster than he knew he could, and began to create jutsu symbols with his hands, preparing to hit it again with fire. His Sharingan eyes were beginning to feel exhausted. It was unusual.

'What? What's happening?' Sasuke thought, but shook his head. His head was beginning to feel fuzzy, and he couldn't concentrate that well.

"**Fire Release – Dragon Flame Jutsu!**" He inhaled deeply again, and then blew harshly through the same symbol made by his hand. A long flamethrower shot through the air towards the weird thing.

It dodged, and before Sasuke had time to move, he was knocked to the ground again. The Dark Seal on Sasuke's neck pulsated within the other seal on top of it that Kakashi had put on, but it didn't have time to break through. The figure raised a fist, and Sasuke's eyes widened in shock before he was knocked out.

---

Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari were near the entrance. The red head had told them his idea, and they both agreed to do it. The Sand Nin almost had full chakra from resting.

"Manipulate Karasu to go through the barrier." Gaara said, the cork that sealed his gourd popping off. Sand seeped out, and circled the marionette.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Temari asked.

"We don't have any other choice." Gaara replied.

"Okay, I'll do it on three. One… Two… Three!" Kankuro began moving his fingers, which pulled various strings connecting to Karasu. It began to walk.

The sand circling the doll climbed upwards and encased it thickly. Karasu walked through the barrier slower than before because of the added weight. The sand began to crumble away quickly; the dark chakra ate away at the armor. It got at the sand and couldn't reach Karasu. The doll broke through the strong chakra, all of the sand fully gone.

Gaara had to grasp his forehead from the strain of keeping the sand on Karasu as a shell. He closed his eyes for a moment, and recollected his strength. Sand kept reapplying itself to the areas on the strings that were caught in the chakra, so that the energy didn't cut off the connection between Kankuro and Karasu.

"Command Karasu to collect those bands." Gaara said, pointing towards them.

Kankuro nodded, and moved his fingers again. Karasu walked towards them, and picked them up.

"Make it throw them back through the barrier."

"But won't they disintegrate?" Temari asked worriedly.

"Just do it, Kankuro." He glared at his brother. Kankuro was forced to ignore Temari's comment. 'What's Gaara thinking? The chakra will do the same thing it did to his sand!'

Karasu threw the bands through the chakra. They landed on the ground, rolling in circles, and then falling flat on their sides.

"Don't pull Karasu back through the barrier, or you won't have a puppet by the end of this." Gaara stated, and went to get the bands. There were seven, and each had a slightly smaller circumference than a basketball would.

The red head picked up one, and saw that there was a break on one side. He opened it from the break and clasped it around his right arm. It shrunk down to fit tightly around his arm. The break sealed itself. He picked up one more, and repeated the action on his left arm.

"Here." He threw two at Kankuro and two at Temari.

"Put these on." Gaara commanded.

"Why?" Asked Kankuro. "They'll just get stuck, and we'll never be able to get them off!"

"Yeah, he's right." Added Temari. "Then they'll know that we've been trying to get out, and something bad will happen!"

Gaara glared at them, and then walked briskly towards the barrier.

"Wait! You'll get incinerated!" Temari exclaimed. They both watched as their little brother walked to his death carelessly.

The red head disappeared though the chakra and stood on the other side.

"They're filled with the dark chakra, and they diffuse the energy through you. The more you have on, the more chakra you have, and the more you can standenergy like this. I could walk through it without getting harmed because of them."Gaara explained.

"How did you know that?" Kankuro asked, watching Gaara seal the last band on Karasu's left forearm.

"I figured the bands weren't for decoration purposes only on those ninja."

Temari put on her bands, and then put Kankuro's bands on his arms for him, since he was still commanding Karasu. The two walked out of the barrier, and Temari suddenly darted off to the side. She picked up a big object, and placed it on her back.

"I found my fan." Temari said. "Now, let's get outta here!"

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Holy cow, I didn't want this chapter to be so long! It's sixteen pages! I didn't want to divide this into two chapters though. D: Please forgive the length!**

**I'm sorry if this was boring (…Again… -- :sigh:)! But hopefully it'll get better in the future, since the plot picks up in the next chapter or two. :3 At least, I plan for it to… **

**Again, please review! They really do help:D Thanks to everyone that reviews!**

**Phoenix-Roar**


	7. Closed Curtains

**Hello. Thanks to all who reviewed! **

**-Warning: There is swearing in this chapter.-**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the anime/manga "Naruto"; Masashi Kishimoto owns "Naruto". Any trademarks, characters, storylines, plots, etc. from the anime/manga "Naruto" belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I would also like to say that ratings, page formats, chapter scroll bars, etc., (this goes for all of my stories and this one as well) that my stories are using are all thanks to the base website. Information that helped me with attacks and characters come from _**

---Closed Curtains---

---Normal POV---

A groan escaped from Sasuke as he rolled onto his back. He rested in the quiet; which wasn't usually what he was surrounded by unless he was in his large, vacant home.

He felt numb and sore, and then remembered fighting that beastly thing. His brows furrowed. What was it, anyway? It wasn't human, as far as he could tell.

He heard a quiet sound, dripping, and then was woken from his thoughtful trance when a drop of water splashed on his nose. His arms twitched, the numbness just beginning to wear off. Once they were completely free of the icy sensation, he slowly sat up. He blinked, and noted the complete change of scenery.

His dark eyes scrutinized the dark environment carefully. They were in a large room. The walls were made entirely out of jagged, purplish-black rock. The higher part of the room curved in to meet at a point. At that point was a sort of crystalline light, which illuminated the room slightly. 'Where does that come from?' He thought, squinting at the light curiously. 'It seems almost like sunlight.' He thought. 'Weren't we in the desert? Judging by the walls, we're in a cave. So that means we're underground.' The numbness in his legs was just beginning to seep away.

Thick, old-looking books and scrolls decorated the room, like an ancient library. Bookcases and shelves stored them neatly. There were a few desks and chairs, documents and opened books splayed over the worktops. Interesting enough, there were lantern-like confinements that held glowing fireflies in them, illuminating the darkness further with a soft, green-yellow light. Uncoiled scrolls, documents, and tapestries decorated the walls here and there.

'This is weird.' Sasuke thought, but immediately lay down and closed his eyes the exact way he had woken up. He had a feeling that some presences were approaching, and he sensed them getting closer. Sasuke guessed they were near the entrance of the room, wherever that was.

A deep, monotone voice echoed through the room. It was cold and seemed as though it was drained of soul. It almost seemed transparent, hollow. It spoke a language that was foreign to Sasuke.

Another voice like the previous one replied. Not one word sounded familiar to him.

They continued their conversation, unaware of Sasuke's consciousness. The hair on Sasuke's neck stood on end as he heard their wispy voices. Their presences were so strong to him, that it seemed like the air was filled with electricity. They were standing- no, floating- well, whatever they were doing- near him. He tried to control his breathing; he tried to seem like he was unconscious. Who knows what they would do if they found him awake?

One of them stated something, and the other responded. A question was asked, and answered again.

The electricity seemed to die down, and then simmered to nothing as they left. He strained his ears, hearing nothing but silence, and quickly got up.

'I have to find out where we are. I need to find a way to wake them, or we could be trapped in this damned place for the rest of our lives!' He thought, his heart beating frantically. Maybe they were stolen as hostages? Nothing made sense to him. He let out a frustrated growl under his breath, and tried the first thing that came to mind.

He went over to Naruto first. "Wake up, moron!" Sasuke hissed at him, shaking Naruto's shoulders. Becoming irritated, he smacked the blonde across the face. "Wake the _hell_up, you stupid _baka_!" He exclaimed, smacking him again. It was no use; he was out cold. He sighed, dropping him back onto the ground. He made his way over to Sakura. Maybe he'd have more luck with her.

"Sakura, wake up!" He said, shaking her shoulders. He slapped the side of her face not quite as hard as he had to Naruto. The blonde could've slept through a tornado, for all he knew. "Argh… this is the _best_ time for everyone to take a nap!" He said sarcastically to himself, before moving on to Kakashi.

"Kakashi-Sensei, wake up! This is important!" His last hope was to wake the silver-haired Jounin, but it was slowly fading. One more try couldn't hurt… "Somebody stole your Icha Icha Paradise book!" …Nope, no response whatsoever.

Whatever they had done to them hadn't worked on him very well, but that left him alone. He didn't want to seem like a chicken, and he hated to admit this to himself, but he would probably need the help of another if one of those weird presences came into the room again. He couldn't fight them by himself; he had already tried before.

He ran his fingers through the left side of his bangs, as he tried to think diligently.

'This is a mess.' He thought coldly. 'There are not too many pleasing options for me. One; I run out of here and try to find the exit- but I'd probably get caught by one of those weird things. I have no idea where I am. Two; I look around this place, and try to find out where we are.' He decided the second option was more appropriate, and walked to the first bookcase. He begun to analyze the spines, but stopped and frowned.

Most of the books were written in a language he couldn't understand. Strange, confusing symbols made up the titles. 'Well this is a big help.' He thought, shaking his head. 'I'm beginning to wonder if there's any point in trying.'

He wandered down the aisle, his eyes raking the shelves for anything he could understand. 'Finally, a little good luck.' He thought, as he pulled a thick book from the shelf. He could understand what was on the spine and cover. He sifted through the pages, pictures catching his attention. It was a book about Konohagakure. Why would it be here, though? What would they need to know about the Land of Fire?

Sasuke continued to analyze it. The book seemed to be written by hand… somebody who was very familiar with Konoha. Then it hit him- There was probably a spy in Konoha from another land, giving out information.

He raised an eyebrow, confused, and put it back in its spot. Beside it was a book about Sunagakure. He continued down the aisle, until he reached the end. One of the desks was placed there, with many scrolls and parchments scattering its surface. He looked at them, not recognizing the language it was written in. It was the same one that the books were written in. He gently moved some of the pages aside, and plucked certain ones out. The sketches that adorned them had caught his attention.

'Jackpot.' He thought, feeling somewhat relieved. Maps were drawn on them. He only hoped that they were of the place they were in; otherwise they would be of no help.

He folded the papers and placed them in his pocket. As soon as he had done so, he turned around quickly, a kunai in his hand.

"It's just me, Sasuke." Said teenager sighed and put his kunai away.

"Took you long enough to wake up, Kakashi-Sensei."

The silver-haired Jounin sighed. "I only remember that beastly thing coming after me." Sasuke noted that he sounded worn out, weak.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"That creature did a lot of damage… I'll be fine eventually. I'm glad I took those classes in healing." Kakashi said, wrapping an arm around his middle, where he was obviously hurt.

Another spark of worry flared through Sasuke's mind. If their leader was hurt and not fully functional as usual, how would they fare against enemies that they hadn't even known of before?

"Listen. We have to get out of here. I don't know what they're going to do to us, but I don't want to wait and find out." Said Sasuke. "I found some documents with some maps on them; they might help us. The problem is that they're in a different language."

"That's not good." Kakashi said, stating the obvious. "Could you tell me what happened while I was out?"

"These two presences appeared in the room, but I didn't look at them because they would've known I was awake." Sasuke explained. "They were talking in a different language, so I couldn't understand them. The voices they had seemed soulless. Something's not human about them, but we don't have time to figure it out."

"That creature that attacked us," Kakashi said, thinking. "It's probably the one that brought us here. So this place is probably _crawling _with them."

The raven-haired teenager suddenly caught on to a wave of electricity in the air. "Do you feel that?" He asked.

"Yeah. I see what you mean." Kakashi said, looking around suspiciously. "They must be coming for us. Here's the plan. We pretend that we're still unconscious; then, when we get carried out, we attack them."

"But they'll probably be a pack of them…"

"We're both conscious right now, so why not ambush them at once? It's not like we have another option. Now, hurry up!" He exclaimed, already heading towards where they had emerged from. Kakashi and Sasuke fell to floor in their respective spots as quietly as they could, and pretended to be knocked out.

Sure enough, the electricity in the air thickened, and the presences appeared in the room.

A low, melancholy voice spoke few words, and Sasuke was instantly lifted up. He didn't dare open his eyes. The iron grip that supported him was icy cold.

'How do I know when Kakashi's going to attack? This could end _very_ badly…' He thought, anxiety filling his mind. They were carried for ten minutes, before being dropped on the floor. Sasuke resisted the urge to break his fall, and almost groaned as his head hit the floor.

"Now!"

Sasuke jumped up, already forming hand signs. Kakashi had his kunai out. The figures were hard to see in the very dim light. They were deformed, their joints bony and sharp. They emitted the same dark energy that Sasuke had seen with his Sharingan. Black bands were wrapped around their limbs. They were the ninja of the land upon which they were now.

**"Fire Style – Art of the Phoenix Flower!"** Sasuke said, blowing through a loop formed by his fingers. Fireballs shot out, almost as though they were locked on to their targets. He was sure they were going to hit, but somehow the targets managed to move evasively. One was approaching him, and he knew he had no time to form hand symbols.

**"Lion Combo!"** He went after one of the enemy, doing all of the different styles of kicks. He crashed it into the floor, and prepared to shower it in more flames.

Kakashi grasped his right wrist with his left hand, electricity entwining around it. He let out an angry growl, before running forward to pierce the creature in front of him.

The deformed human dodged out of the way easily. Sasuke took the moment to blow a long flamethrower at it, catching it off guard. It was burnt badly by the attack. Sasuke took out his kunai, and flung it at the same target. It whizzed past, being narrowly missed.

Cold, sharp fingers were placed on Sasuke's shoulder. A chill ran up his spine, and he took a sharp intake of air. 'Was there somebody behind me the entire time?' He thought feverishly, turning to punch it. His fist was caught and twisted.

"Argh!" Sasuke yelled in pain, then clenched his teeth together and tried to get the attacker away from him with his other fist. The figure was knocked backwards by Kakashi before Sasuke got to hit it. Kakashi was pinned down by another creature, and had no chance to escape. He tried to get it off of him, but it wouldn't budge. He was trapped.

Sasuke lunged at the captor, but was caught by both wrists with icy grips before he could hit his target. There was a poof of smoke, as Kakashi's captor held down a log.

'The Substitution Jutsu,' Sasuke thought. 'Thank God for whoever invented that.' Another puff of smoke appeared where Sasuke had stood, and replaced with the boy was a log, just like what Kakashi had done. Sasuke appeared behind the figure, punched it with his untwisted fist, and kicked it to the floor with a harsh blow. The two logs disappeared in their own puffs of smoke.

Star shaped kunai flew past the enemy that Sasuke had just escaped from, missing it slightly. However, the blades hit the floor, and the being roared in pain, falling. Sasuke had no time to be baffled by its weird behavior. He looked towards the thrower, and saw Sakura stagger up, standing on her feet. The enemy had stopped moving.

Sasuke was a bit surprised to see her up. 'Naruto might wake up soon, then, since Sakura's conscious now.' The raven-haired teen thought. 'This fight's beginning to seem a little fair.' He made sure that the other one that was lying on the floor was unmoving, and turned to see Kakashi firing up his thunder fist again.

The vivid, purplish-blue electricity glowed around his hand, and he ran forward to pierce the target again.

_"You won't achieve the same result twice, Kakashi..."_ The venomous voice was hollow. Kakashi's fist was caught in the clutches of the creature he was aiming for. The electricity died away.

The silver-haired Jounin cried out in pain, before being thrown back. He landed on the floor, immobile. Sakura threw her star-shaped kunai at the still creature. It caught them easily, as though it didn't cut at impact, and threw them back at Sakura. She dodged all but one, which stuck into her arm.

Naruto groaned, rolling over. After a moment, he opened his eyes and got up. "What the..?" He asked, squinting. "I can hardly see! What_ is_ this place? Where _are_ w-" "Naruto, **look out!**" Sakura cried, before Naruto was trapped in the clutches of the same creature that Kakashi had tricked. Another being pinned down Sakura.

"Hey,** bozo!** Get the hell _off_'a me!" He hollered, squirming with his somewhat renewed strength. He managed to pull loose a kunai from his pocket, and tried to slash at his captor. The figure caught his wrist, stopping his attack.

The enemies beaten to the floor got up, joining the other ninja, as though they were not harmed in the first place. More emerged from the darkest crevices of the room, and they formed a circle around the four captured.

_"Congratulations…"_

A different figure emerged from the darkness in front of them. It seemed to float.

_"You were close in escaping. It's a shame you didn't."_ The voice sounded hollower and more echo-like than the others. It was chillingly malevolent; whispery, but baritone, and it caused anxiety in each member of team seven.

"Where the** hell** are we?" Naruto yelled. "Whoever the heck you are, I'm'a **KICK YOUR BUTT** when I get the chance!"

_"You're certainly feisty. That will do us good."_

"Do you usually **not** make sense, or is it a one time thing?" The blonde fired back.

It spoke with a growl rumbling in its throat. _"Don't talk back, you insolent, infantile idiot!"_

While Naruto thought of something else to say to tick off the new enemy, Sakura interrupted.

"Would you mind telling us where we are, at least? Or what we're doing here? Or what you're going to do to us?" Her voice seemed to waver.

_"You'll figure out what you're doing here soon enough. Take these three to their cell, and make sure that you remove **all** of their weapons this time. Take the Copy Ninja to get treated for his injury."_

In the blink of an eye, its silhouette had disappeared. Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto were each lifted by one of the ninja, and carried away, struggling.

---

The red-haired ninja glanced suspiciously around him at all times. It was strange… it was almost like he could see better, clearer, although the lighting of the atmosphere was barely present. He didn't think further about it, though. The tunnel that they were escaping through split into different passageways; one to the left, one continuing up, and one to the right.

"Let's just continue through the middle one; it's not like we know where we're going anyway." Kankuro said quickly, and the three set off for that tunnel. Soon, they came upon another decision, which looked similar to the one they had just solved.

"Just take a right." Temari muttered, and they turned to the right. The tunnel began to curve inwards, and they turned another right.

"There's an entrance to a room over there," Gaara said, hiding behind the wall of the tunnel they were about to leave.

"Should we take our chances?" Kankuro asked under his breath. Just then, Gaara held up his finger to symbolize quiet. "Listen."

_"Congratulations… You were close in escaping. It's a shame you didn't."_

"It's him!" Temari said, her eyes widening. "That thing you fought against."

The redhead nodded, remembering.

"Where the** hell** are we? Whoever the heck you are, I'm'a **KICK YOUR BUTT** when I get the chance!"

"Who's that?" Kankuro asked to no one in particular.

"They've captured more people." Gaara said, thinking about who it could be.

_"You're certainly feisty. That will do us good."_

"Do you usually** not** make sense, or is it a one time thing?"

_"Don't talk back, you insolent, infantile idiot!"_

Suddenly, Kankuro turned to look back into the tunnel they were about to leave. "Do you feel that?"

The other two also looked back, feeling the energy in the air.

"We have to leave this passage!" Temari said, looking for another option. "Where do we go?"

"Let's just go into that room! We might be able to blend in with these." Kankuro said. He pointed to the black band wrapped around his arm. The other two nodded, and quickly fled. The presences that were coming towards them were drowned out as the energy became thousands of times stronger. The room was filled with at least a hundred silhouetted figures; the ones that the Sand Siblings had faced earlier.

"Let's sneak around the back. Try not to get noticed!" Temari whispered, and her brothers nodded. They analyzed the ninja carefully, not sure if they were watching or not.

"Would you mind telling us where we are, at least? Or what we're doing here? Or what you're going to do to us?"

_"You'll figure out what you're doing here soon enough. Take these three to their cell, and make sure that you remove all weapons this time. Take the Copy Ninja to get treated for his injury."_

'Copy Ninja…' The words reverberated through his mind, as he tried to recall where he had heard those before. The shadowed ninja suddenly moved simultaneously. The siblings hurried, while everyone was moving, and found an exit. It was a short tunnel, and another large room emerged from the end. It seemed to glow slightly, like in the room they were just in. They were about to enter it, when the leader popped up in front of them.

_"Where do you think you're going?"_ It asked.

"Other way!" Kankuro exclaimed, and they turned, ready to run. They were blocked off that way too, by a doppelganger.

_"You three have caused a lot of trouble. But, you actually sped up the process by putting on those bands by yourselves, instead of making us do it for you!"_ Its voice was smug.

The doppelgangers clutched at their arms and shoulders, dragging them back to their cell.

---

"Well, that was a failed attempt." Temari muttered with her arms wrapped around her knees. She was fan-less.

"Yeah, they even took Karasu away!" Kankuro whined. There were now three guards stationed outside their cell, so even if they tried to escape, they would be caught instantly.

Gaara sat against the wall in a corner. He hadn't spoken since they had been caught.

"Do the words 'Copy Ninja' ring a bell to either of you?" He asked curiously.

"Come to think of it… It seems familiar, but I don't know…" Temari said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I'm actually drawing a blank." Kankuro nodded in agreement, staring off into space.

"Yeah, it seems to be on the tip of my tongue, but I can't remember."

"That's weird." Gaara muttered.

"This might sound strange, but I think that my sight has gotten better since we've been down here." Temari stated suddenly.

"You too?" Kankuro asked, surprised. "I thought that was just me!" They both looked at Gaara curiously. He nodded, and the air grew thick with suspicion.

"Do you think… it's because of these bands?" Temari flicked the one sealed to her right arm.

"Yeah. What other explanation could there be?" Kankuro said, scrutinizing his.

"Why would they want to make us stronger, though?" Temari asked again.

"Maybe they're planning to use us for something." Gaara said, looking at the guards outside.

Temari began to pull at one of her black bands. "Argh, it won't come off!" She hissed angrily. She tried banging it against the stone wall, scraping it, pounding it, and just simply sliding it off, but nothing worked. "It's like it's sealed to my skin!" She said, huffing.

"I guess we're stuck with them, then." Kankuro stated dully, as if there was no other option for them. And at the time, it didn't seem like there was one.

"I'm really tired, for some reason…" Temari muttered, her eyelids drooping. She lay down from her sitting position, and seemed to fall asleep instantly. Kankuro and Gaara exchanged glances at the weird behavior. Soon enough, Kankuro began to fall asleep, too. Gaara looked at both of them, confused.

_'Something's obviously wrong with them.'_ Shukaku stated in Gaara's mind.

'Yeah.' Gaara thought, agreeing with the monster for once. After a moment, his eyes kept unwillingly closing. 'Why can't I keep my eyes open?'

_'Something's obviously wrong with **you.**'_

'That helps.' He thought sarcastically, before falling to the floor as the other two had done. His thoughts became heavy, and he drifted off into unconsciousness.

---

Naruto huffed, sitting cross-legged. "Man! This STINKS!" He crossed his arms, and pouted like a little kid. "And I am NOT infantile!"

"Sure you aren't, Naruto." Sasuke muttered, rolling his eyes. He shuffled around and reached into his pocket.

"Look. While you guys were out, I managed to find these." He put them down on the floor. Sakura looked up from her thoughts, and crawled over to have a look at them. Sasuke sat down. Naruto wiggled his way over, sitting all the way.

"Where'd you get these?" Sakura inquired. Naruto just stared at the papers with a blank expression on his face.

"When I first woke up, we were in a big library. I think it had some sort of sunlight filtering from above, so I know we're underground somewhere." Sasuke explained, shuffling the papers. "I went looking for some clues as to where we were. I crossed these on a table. Most of the books are in this language." He pointed to the script on the page.

"So what good does that do?" Naruto complained. "If we can't even _read _those papers, how the heck are we supposed to _use_ them?"

Sasuke sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Naruto, will you get a brain already? It has _pictures_ on them. That's how!"

"…Oh."

"Okay, enough, you two." Sakura said, holding her hands out between Naruto and Sasuke. "Let's analyze these, and try to figure out where we are." The raven-haired teen and the blonde nodded in unison, before each of the trio picked up a page.

After five minutes, Sakura straightened up, her eyes wide. "Do you feel that buzz in the air?"

Sasuke paused, and then quickly grabbed the pages from their clutches. "Quick, lie down! Pretend you're asleep!" He stuffed the documents in his pocket, before collapsing, and pretending to be unconscious for the second time. Sakura and Naruto copied him.

The electricity in the air thickened, and sure enough, a ninja entered the cell. It grasped onto each of Naruto's arms, holding him still.

The blonde snapped his eyes open, snarling. "Hey! Get'cher filthy claws off'a me!" He hollered, making Sakura flinch. Sasuke stayed frozen. What were they going to do with _Naruto_, of all people? Deciding he had nothing to lose, he began to form hand signs. Once he was done, he jumped up, facing the enemy.

**"Fire Style - Art of the Phoenix Flower!"** He cried, blowing the fireballs at the ninja. It vanished, and the fireballs fizzled out when they hit the walls. Naruto gave him a wide-eyed look. Sakura jumped up, star-shaped kunai in her hands.

"Are you trying to fry **ME** or somethin'? Watch where you're **AIMING**!" The back of his orange uniform was singed, as were some of his blonde locks. He unhappily brushed at his hair with his hands.

Sasuke looked around the cell for the intruder, but couldn't find anyone other than the three of them.

"Naruto! Look out!" Sakura cried, and threw kunai which whizzed past Naruto's head. The kunai hit the enemy, who had just appeared behind Naruto.

It fell down, before retrieving the kunai, and standing back up again.

"What? Why didn't that work?" Sakura asked, backing up. The ninja threw the kunai back at her, and she managed to dodge them all this time. Naruto tried to scramble away from the captor, but it caught him by the back of his jacket. Naruto kicked with his feet and squirmed. Another ninja came into the cell, and rolled up the blonde's sleeves. It clasped a black ring around each of Naruto's arms, which shrunk to fit perfectly around them.

"What are you doing?" Naruto yelled at them. "I don't want those stupid things! Lemme go!" They carried him through the barrier. Sakura and Sasuke could hear Naruto's yelling becoming fainter and fainter as he was carried farther away.

"How could he go through that barrier?" Sakura asked, breaking the silence.

"That's probably why they made him put on those bands." Sasuke replied, sitting down, and resting his head on his knees.

"What do we do now?" Sakura replied, hopelessness resounding in her voice.

"There's nothing we _can _do, Sakura."

He retrieved the documents from his pocket, and looked at them without life in his eyes. Sakura took one of the three, and the hours ticked by as they stared at the foreign symbols and pictures endlessly.

---

Gaara awoke in a strange room. There were no lights, but he could see perfectly fine. He glanced around; machines were attached to him. There was a beeping that filled the room, and he looked at one of the machines hooked up to him. It was a screen that showed his heart rate. It beeeped every four seconds, the lines jumping along with the beep.

He blinked, and then blinked again to make sure he was seeing correctly. 'One beat per four seconds?' He thought, feeling a cold sensation of panic rush through him, which was rare. He felt fine, but his limbs felt heavy to move.

_"Hello."_ He glanced in the general direction of the voice. The figure stepped closer to him. It wasn't the leader they had encountered before, but one of the regular ninja.

"What am I doing here?" Speaking was becoming more difficult.

_"That isn't for you to know." _Before Gaara could question farther, he was pierced with an acupuncture needle.

_"There. Now you're paralyzed. You won't be able to move greatly, so don't try. You'll just end up hurting yourself."_

The redhead wanted to say something back, to question him, to find answers, but it was increasingly hard to move. He watched the figure disappear, and then reappear with more black bands.

_"You'll need more than two of these."_ It said. It clasped two others on each arm, so that Gaara was in possession of six.

When Gaara blinked, it was gone again. This time, it didn't reappear. He felt extremely tired, and closed his eyes. The beeping resounded in his head. Once every five seconds… six seconds… seven seconds… He fell unconscious again.

---

Naruto woke up, attached to many machines. A heart meter, which was pounding away wildly; other machines surrounded him that he had no idea existed.

"What **IS** all of this stuff?" He exclaimed, pulling at some cords.

_"You shouldn't do that."_ A voice made him look up, and drop the electrical wires.

"Who's there?"

The figure stepped up beside Naruto. Before he could say anything, he was pierced with an acupuncture needle.

_"You're paralyzed. Don't try to move."_

His heart rate slowed, and he blinked at the sudden event. 'Woah…'

The figure disappeared and came back with four more black bands. It clasped them onto his arms.

Naruto frowned, squinting in the darkness to see the figure before it disappeared for good. His vision had somehow improved in a short amount of time…

He scrutinized the figure's pale face, and expressionless eyes.

'He seems familiar…' Naruto thought.

His eyes suddenly widened in disbelief.

"No way!" He searched frantically for another answer in his mind, but remembered the figure as only one person.

"You're-"

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**BWAHAHAHAHA! CLIFFHANGER!**

**:) Ahem, anyway…**

**Fwee, this chapter was as long as the last one. I hope you all enjoyed it! **

**Please review:D Thanks for taking the time to read this!**

**Phoenix-Roar**


	8. Drawn Blinds

I thank everyone who's reviewed thus far. I'm **very** sorry for the late update, but I've started high school (and a new program with advanced work) so I'm very busy these days. I'll try to update every now and then, so please don't loose all confidence in this story! If I don't get a chance to update quickly, I'll still be trying to plot out further where the story will go. Thank you for reading this far. :D

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the anime/manga "Naruto"; Masashi Kishimoto owns "Naruto". Any trademarks, characters, storylines, plots, etc. from the anime/manga "Naruto" belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I would also like to say that ratings, page formats, chapter scroll bars, etc., (this goes for all of my stories and this one as well) that my stories are using are all thanks to this host website. "Wikipedia", the online lookup, also helped me with jutsus and moves that the characters use, and for information about the characters themselves. I don't own the name "Wikipedia" either.**_

* * *

---Chapter 8---

---Drawn Blinds---

---Normal POV---

He didn't know how long it had been since he had last been conscious. Gaara's thickly rimmed eyelids fluttered open, and blinked a few times to clear away the fuzziness. He was lying in complete darkness, but he could see sharper than he ever could before.

A never-ending, high-pitched sound hummed from somewhere beside him. He had to rely on will alone to turn his head. It was too difficult to do much else. He stared at the machine he had seen before he had gone unconscious. It was the heart meter, but this time the screen only showed a flat, green line. The high-pitched sound that was matched to beep when his heart beat was a continuous held note now.

His non-existent brows furrowed, and he stared at it, waiting for a good five seconds for it to beep. Nothing happened on the screen, nor did the note waver even once.

'I'm dead, apparently. Great.' Gaara thought skeptically. He looked for some sort of wire that connected to the machines. There were none.

A figure made itself present; the same one that had paralyzed him earlier.

"_It worked."_ The figure stared at the screen expressionlessly. Gaara forced himself to speak, no matter how difficult it was.

"It's not plugged in."

"_It doesn't need a plug. It runs on dark chakra."_ Gaara furrowed his non-existent brows again in his confusion. He focused on the other with a glare.

"I'm not dead."

The figure picked up Gaara's hand with its own icy one, and lifted it. He unfolded Gaara's unmoving fingers and put them up to his neck, where his jugular should've been beating. And it wasn't.

Gaara's eyes widened as he literally felt no pulse against his own neck.

"This has to be a hallucination," Gaara muttered, scowling up at the face of the other, his patience already running thin. A headband was tied around the figure's forehead; two long, black bangs fell on either side of the face. The figure's eyes were hollow and devoid of any life signs.

"_It's not."_ The translucent voice was serious. Within a split second after speaking, the figure disappeared.

Gaara was left stunned that he was dead _and_ alive at the same time.

---

"You're…" Naruto's eyes were wide with extreme shock. He couldn't believe what he was thinking. "You're…"

"You're… Haku!"

The figure said nothing as it walked back to Naruto's side, as if it was on rewind.

It leaned slightly over Naruto's form, coldly looking the blonde in the eyes with his own lifeless ones.

It was a quiet moment, before the accused one spoke.

"_Who?" _

"You're **Haku!** Don't you even know your own name?!" Naruto exclaimed, one hundred percent sure that the identity was true.

"_I don't know who you are talking about, nor do I care."_ He backed up to leave. He disappeared without a trace.

Naruto looked around. He made sure that 'Haku' was gone. 'I need to get out of here.' He was shivering; he felt so very cold. Only then was he aware that he was actually on some sort of mattress. He swung his legs over the side, and found the ground close by. His limbs were heavy; they felt like they had very heavy weights attached to them. He glared at the wires and tubes that attached him to the machines, and grimaced when he ripped them away; although, he was quite surprised when it hurt much less than he thought it would. Naruto staggered to a standing position, and squinted into the darkness. He saw rows upon rows of empty mattresses and machines. Looking further, he saw the outline of an exit. He stumbled past all of the weird equipment, and towards the door. It felt like he was running through water, and he nearly tripped. His weight was swung forward, and he opened the steel door with a bang. He caught himself with it, and sighed.

'I really wish I knew how to teleport,' He whined mentally, noting the deep incline in the tunnel. He stumbled down the dip, catching himself on fang-like rocks that stuck out of the ground and ceiling. Two pathways emerged from the one he was currently on. Without really thinking about it, the blonde fell towards the left one, and continued on that track.

Sooner than he had expected, he came to an entrance to another room. He slowed down and stood to the side of the doorway, trying to be unnoticeable. 'What is this place?'

The jumpsuit clad ninja walked as quietly as he could in the state he was in. He didn't want to catch anyone's attention. He peered around, nearly forgetting to breathe while he took in his surroundings.

There were contraptions of all sorts; pieces of equipment of all sizes were placed randomly. Energy seemed to fill the air, exactly like the buzz that he had felt before the ninjas had come in to drag him away from his teammates. The room seemed to be of the utmost importance.

Before he knew what had happened, he was flung forwards violently. He caught himself before his head hit the floor, scraping his palms and the material over his knees. He tried to get up. He was kicked in the ribs, and flung sideways. A growl began to build up in his throat, and he forced himself to stand. He curled his fist into a ball and managed to connect it with the attacker's face. Naruto caught a glimpse of the ninja before it disappeared, seemingly into thin air.

The figure seemed so very familiar. A huge, heavy sword in the shape of a rectangle hoisted across his back, tall, adult figure, short, dark hair with a headband tied around his head, bandages covering half of his face, a demonic look in his eyes…

He stumbled onward, hardly noticing the soreness in his back and ribs, where he had been attacked. Was there any pain? He didn't feel any. Naruto had tried to identify the ninja, but couldn't remember anyone or their name. The information seemed to be there, but he couldn't quite recall it… 'This is really screwed up.' He thought, trying to form sentences clearly through his mental haze. 'It's like my sense of feeling is becoming duller, but my vision, hearing, and smelling senses are becoming sharper. And I think I'm loosing my memory.'

He collapsed on the floor, unable to move his limbs, for they were too heavy. His eyelids wanted to close, and he nearly complied with them, when his attention was caught by another type of giant fissure in the ground that he had come close to falling into.

A jolt went up his spine, as he realized how close he had been to walking straight over the fissure. He would've fallen in, and he knew he _still_ wouldn't have noticed. The blonde could not deny what his eyes told him, though, and his reality was brought back.

He noticed conveyor belts, metal pulleys, leavers, and instruments of all sorts gathered near the fissure on both sides. Molten liquid flowed in the bottom of the large fjord-like exposure, but the magma wasn't red. It was dark, as if consumed by evil energy. Naruto could hardly grasp this concept, nor could he think about it with his scrambled thoughts.

The fox boy pushed himself up, forcing himself onwards, no matter how much energy he felt like he didn't have. He glanced around with his glazed, blue eyes, wondering why he didn't see all of this before. Was he really that _blind_? It was actually the complete opposite…

The machines were fully functional, all of them stationed in specific points; mostly around numerous fissures and cracks, some drilling into the ground. Dark, bowl-shaped metal was attached onto the end of a pulley-and-leaver type machine, and a ninja threw black bands into it tirelessly while another stood on the other side of the crack, waiting. They looked like zombies; repeating the same actions over and over again, not once speaking. Once it was filled, it was lowered down, into the black, pulsating magma far below. It was brought back up, the dark liquid dripping through small holes in the metal; it was almost like a strainer.

It swung to the side, and the contents were dumped onto a conveyor belt, which carried the metal bands away to another station. The machine swung back, ready to be filled. The ninja that had been waiting began to fill it up with more bands began to do that action, while the other one stood immobile this time.

'What are they doing?' Naruto squinted at them, as if he could see the answer by doing that. He tried to think about it. He looked at the bands that were being loaded into the machine, and at the bands moving along the conveyor. Naruto blinked, and suddenly he saw a slight difference that made complete sense to him.

The magma gave the bands their supernatural energy and power. The ones that were pulled along the belt had a certain luster, a certain _pulse_; the bands that were still to absorb the magma's energy had none of these characteristics.

He was surprised that he could see the difference, and thanked his enhanced vision. A plan formed in his mind, and he watched the two closest ninja carefully as he began to walk towards the inactive bands. He didn't know how he would pull off his plan; he didn't even know how it would work, exactly. After a while, he reached the end of the fissure, and crossed over the side, beginning to weave his way around other machines. He saw a pile of inactive bands lumped in a random location, probably for later use, and decided that getting some as soon as possible would be a good idea.

Once he reached the pile, he opened all of his pockets, and tried to stuff some bands inside them. His pockets, however, were not big enough, and he growled. Why did they have to make them so _big_, anyways? Annoyed, he unzipped his jacket and began to place the rings inside. Once he had at least six, he zipped it back up, and walked behind one of the machines to sit.

Once he was seated on the ground, he rolled up his sleeves and began to tug furiously at the rings. He stopped after a moment, realizing that he didn't have the strength to continue doing that. It wasn't working, as far as he could tell. How could he replace the active rings with the inactive rings if he couldn't even get them _off?_

He sighed, closing his eyes, and he leant his head against the back of the machine.

'Kyuubi..?'

There was silence for a moment, and then a ferocious growl echoed within his head.

'_Why are you bothering me?'_

'I need your help. These bands won't come off my arms. They won't budge. Do you have any idea how to get them off?'

Naruto heard a sigh, mentally watching the power in the demon's eyes grow. '_Sheer force alone will do nothing for you.' _

The teen was about to say something back to the fox demon, when he noticed that the rings on his arms were beginning to glow red around the edges. He frowned, confused, when the light spread down both of his arms. He realized it was Kyuubi's demonic chakra.

'What are you doing?'

'_Think about it. When they were put on you, they adjusted to fit your arms. If you build up a **physical, **strong wall of chakra between the rings and your arms, they will expand again. But you needed my power to do that. Only a very powerful ninja or a demon would be able to exert that strength of chakra and make it into a physical form.'_

Naruto was a bit taken back by the Kyuubi's logic, and that it was actually helping him.

Almost immediately, the rings expanded, and he flung them off. His arms stopped glowing.

Suddenly, he couldn't breathe, and he felt like a chunk of ice. He gasped for air, but he couldn't move. His thoughts became tangled like a ball of yarn, and his eyes began to prickle as black fog covered his vision. He fell backwards, hitting the floor. His form was frozen; his clouded eyes still open. His face was pale and lifeless, a blank expression plastered onto it.

---

Sakura sighed. She was repetitively blinking, trying to keep her tears from seeping out of her eyes. She didn't want to cry in front of Sasuke. What would he think of her then?

She was terribly afraid for Naruto. She had grown to like the blonde as a friend nowadays, even though he was still annoying. She felt bad for picking on him and ignoring him in the past, when they had first met. And now… she may never see him again, and she had never apologized to him.

A drop rolled from each of her eyes, and she quickly swept them away with her hand, hoping that the raven-haired boy wouldn't notice her behaviour.

"Sakura…" Sasuke sighed, looking up from the sheet. "What's on your mind?"

"Oh, n-nothing." She sniffled, trying to stop her shoulders from shivering. So, Sasuke noticed… _'Isn't that a **good** thing that he's paying attention to you?!' _Inner Sakura spoke up, but the outer Sakura blocked her out.

"You have to be crying for a reason." He said, glancing over at her from the paper in his hand. "Spill it. It's not like I have anybody else here to gossip to about what you're going to say."

The pink-haired girl realized that he had a point, and sighed again. "It's just… I'm scared of what's going to happen to Naruto. To all of us…"

There was silence, and Sakura felt her heart sink. He probably just wanted to make fun of her once she spilt her feelings.

"Being honest, I am too." She looked up at him with her vibrant green, watery eyes. He was looking at the map again, calmly letting his eyes scan over it.

"Y-you are?" She knew it was silly, because **anybody** would be scared out of their pants in the situation of being kidnapped, but… **Sasuke? **She had never imagined him to be fearful of anything. Sakura knew that it was a foolish thought, and tried to erase it from her mind.

"Yeah." He replied, running his hand through the right side of his bangs. "Don't go telling other people I said that. I have a reputation to keep."

She waved her hands back and forth in front of her nervously, as if to emphasize what she was about to say. "D-don't worry, I won't!" At least she felt a little better now, actually talking to someone. Still, she worried for Naruto. Sakura had been hit with a feeling not too long ago that something bad had happened to her friend… And she hoped it was just a feeling.

---

A redheaded figure sat on the side of a bed, head hung low. Gaara had managed to swing his legs over and actually sit, but it was hard to do much else. Even lifting his head took too much effort at the moment. His limbs felt so heavy; it was as if they were made out of complete steel, and as though he had run for a few hours consecutively with them like that.

He couldn't budge. He felt like he was frozen to the cot in which he was lying on. Thoughts swirled his head, some making sense, some not. How much time had passed since he had gotten up? The vacant-eyed boy had no idea. After a while, he felt some energy returning to him. 'I guess I just needed time.' He was about to stand, when a figure entered the giant room filled with medical machines.

"_Good. You're awake. The Yorukage wants to see you."_ The same male that had paralyzed him now appeared before him, waiting for the red-head to follow.

Gaara didn't seem to notice himself stand, or walk. He followed the older teen. He didn't even look at his surroundings; it was almost like he was following against his will.

The two entered another room. It was the same, gigantic place where they had been brought the first time they were here; deep fissures running with black lava were carved into the ground of the incredibly enormous cave.

They came to the first gigantic crack in the ground. There were no bridges connecting the two sides together. The other ninja knelt for a minute, and jumped right over the abyss, landing on the other side. Gaara watched him through a slight haze in his vision, and without thinking, knelt. As if he were a spring, he jumped, and his feet landed on solid rock again. The two continued on.

They jumped over numerous fissures and cracks. Gaara hadn't noticed when buildings began to pop up. It wasn't big, like Suna or Konoha; it was very small. The building designs weren't like those on the surface; it seemed somehow… _different_, somehow _darker._ Maybe it was just the atmosphere. Gaara's mind blocked out further thought against his will, and he zoned out like a zombie again.

Before he realized it, he was in another spacious room. There were numerous statues and random, ancient-looking things sprawled across the place. Candles were in nearly every space that they could fit; all bearing purplish-black flame, which brought a dark light to the room.

He and the older teen stood, immobile. Three others were standing frozen in front of a desk.

The Yorukage sat behind the desk, staring at them all with his completely black eyes.

"_Yondaime... Karura… Zabuza…" _The Yondaime turned his head slowly to look at the silent figure beside Gaara. _"Haku. Once the boy named 'Naruto' wakes, and all of his chakra has turned into dark chakra, we will begin the tests. Understood?" _The figures all spoke in unison with dead voices. _"Yes." _He dismissed them with a wave of his hand, and all of them were gone within the blink of an eye. The boy named "Haku" was no longer standing beside him.

Gaara's feet carried him to stand in front of the desk. He stared at the one named the Yorukage.

A malicious smirk crossed its face. The Yorukage seemed to pull four black rings from nowhere, and handed them to Gaara, who put one on each leg, one around his neck, and another one on his dominant hand. _"I have an assignment for you." _It spoke in a chilling, malevolent voice. _"You are going to take a trip. Unfortunately, your siblings aren't 'prepared' well enough yet to go on missions, so you're going to have to do this by yourself." _

---

A blonde, long-haired woman walked through the Hidden Leaf Village gate, stretching. "Wow, what a long trip that was!" She said, cracking her back. "Thank Kami it's over." She slung her bag back over her shoulder, continuing into Konoha.

The guards at the gate stared at her, confused, but she didn't notice, as she was too happy to be home. Humming to herself, some people passing bowed politely, while others, giving her confused stares, bowed also.

This time, she noticed the glances, and continued to her office, brushing them off. She went up to her office, waving at Shizune, who was at one of the receptionists' desks.

"I'm back, Shizune-chan!" She sang happily. She began to slow down when she noticed the slightly scared look in her friend's eyes.

"Welcome back, Hokage-Sama," The dark-haired woman replied, nervousness in her voice.

"Is there something wrong, Shizune-chan?" Tsunade's happiness was replaced with worry.

"It's just…" She exhaled, and inhaled, closing her eyes. "You just left…"

"What do you mean 'I just left'?"

"You just left on your trip ten minutes ago; to go to that other village you needed to negotiate with."

"What are you talking about? I left two weeks ago!" Tsunade was confused, but she could feel a doomed sensation coming over her, along with realization. "Well did _'I' _do anything important?"

"Err… You sent Team Seven on a long assignment a few days ago." Shizune said, opening her eyes slightly. "If I may, Hokage-Sama…" She put a hand over her face. "I think everyone has been serving an impostor."

Tsunade's eyes were wide, and her heart was beating wildly. How could they confuse her with someone _else? _She ran into her office; her notes, books, scrolls, and assignment papers were in a similar fashion as the way she left it.

The blonde woman thought carefully, trying to think of something that would make it clear whether there was an impostor or not. "Aha!" She clapped her hands together with her genius, and ran behind her desk. She yanked open a drawer, and held up an entirely full bottle of sake.

Shizune moaned, a hand covering her face again. There was no _way_ there would be a _full_ bottle of sake in the real Tsunade's presence. "So there _was_ an impostor…"

Tsunade suddenly stiffened, slamming the bottle of sake on her desk. She began to form hand signs. "Shizune, watch the office, okay? I have some tracking to do." Her friend nodded, and Tsunade disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

She reappeared on the rooftop, looking frantically around the city. It was too high to see anybody clearly, so she began to jump between rooftops.

Going as fast as she was able to, she searched the whole village in a short amount of time. Panting for breath, she ran through the gates, the guards officially confused with two Tsunades running around.

'I can probably catch up to that person. Hopefully they haven't changed forms yet…' Tsunade was going so fast, she was just a blur. Her training as a Hokage really paid off.

She saw someone in the distance, running through the forest; not as fast as she was, though. Going closer, the blonde saw a copy of her running.

She jumped onto tree branches, and once she was as far as her copy, she jumped down, barricading it.

"Who the hell are you, copycat?" Tsunade growled; she was ready to fight if need be.

The copy of Tsunade stared back, and in a puff of smoke, changed into a pale, lifeless ninja with black bands running around its limbs. It changed into a bird, and flew away immediately.

Tsunade ground her teeth angrily, before forming hand signs and disappearing back to Konoha.

Shizune jumped as the office door burst open. A huffing Hokage stormed in, and took the bottle of sake into her hands, uncorking it. She drank from it eagerly, before slamming it back down.

"Get all of the Leaf Teams in here, including the Jounins in charge of them. **Now.**" Shizune bowed at the request and was off.

About ten minutes later, many Genin were cramming into the office, as well as their team leaders. Tsunade hollered for silence, and every one of them tried to bow in respect without bonking one another in the process.

"Listen up!" Tsunade said loudly. "We have a **huge** crisis on our hands." The seriousness in her voice was unbelievable.

She held her head in her hands as she spoke. "I left to negotiate with the Kazekage about two weeks ago. Shizune tells me that there was an impostor taking over my place, pretending to be me, while I was gone. Apparently, _I_ sent Team Seven out on a long journey to Sunagakure. Now, when I was talking with the Kazekage, he told me that there was something suspicious happening in a not well known region. He told me something was happening there that is planning to take over Konohagakure. Yet, I don't see how he knows all of this. So, since_ I_ sent Team Seven to Sunagakure, I have a feeling that they're somehow caught up in this." She stopped to breathe, and then began again. "I didn't believe him at first, but now it makes sense. The four of them may be in great danger now, as are all of us, so I am assigning each and every one of you to an **S-rank** mission."

Excitement, fear, and anxiety swirled throughout the room. They were only _Genin_, yet they were being assigned such an assignment? The few Jounin in the room also looked surprised. It wasn't every day that an _S-rank_ mission popped up out of nowhere.

"The reason why I am assigning this mission to you Genin is because I find that you all possess special qualities and powers individually that will be very useful. I hope you all understand the urgency this situation holds. This could turn into a **_war_**. I am planning to send about half of all Konoha ninja to help you, divided into time periods which I will not reveal now. I personally will be joining you with this mission because it is of the utmost importance, but not right away." Tsunade continued her speed-talk, trying to finish her explanation and mission plan so that they could leave.

Once she was finished, she dismissed them and drank some more sake.

'What a mess this has turned out to be.' She thought to herself, sighing.

---

A day had passed, and the evening sky spanned over the desert. A large group of ninja sat. The Jounin were clumped together in one area, looking at a map, pointing to the region in which Tsunade had mentioned.

"I'm… So… **HUNGRY!**" Choji cried, arms wrapped around his middle in hunger.

"Oh, don't you _ever_ stop thinking about your stomach? **We just ate!**" Ino scolded, glaring at her teammate. Shikamaru sighed. "You guys are so troublesome. Won't you ever stop bickering?"

Kiba patted Akamaru's head. Choji, Ino, and Shikamaru were annoying the hell out of each other. Again. He sighed; was there anything new with that? After a moment, Akamaru began to shake, and climbed into Kiba's shirt, scared.

"Huh? What's wrong, Akamaru?" He looked worriedly at his friend, who was shivering badly.

"A-Akamaru? A-are you okay?" Hinata stuttered, noticing the dog's weird behaviour. The blank-eyed girl remembered the last time the dog was so scared, which was in the Forest of Death.

Shino, also noticing Akamaru's weird behaviour, was remembering the same thing as Hinata. "You don't think something strong is coming, do you?" He asked monotonously, pushing his sunglasses higher on the bridge of his nose.

"W-we should tell sensei about this… I-it might mean someone's coming…" Hinata said quietly, standing up. "You're right." Kiba agreed, and also stood. The three of them began to make their way towards the red-eyed woman named Kurenai, who was their sensei.

"It's not likely someone other than us is traveling the desert right now. But we'll keep an eye open, so relax, okay?" She said, and then turned back to the other Jounin to continue on their meeting. The three sat back down, still nervous.

The giant group chattered for a while, the sky now dark and star-splashed. The moon hung, large and shimmering. Cold wind whipped the sand dunes every now and then, blowing grains around.

The "Handsome Devil of Konoha", along with Tenten sat down with Kurenai's Genin, because Neji was giving them the cold shoulder, obviously wanting to be left alone. They were deep into a thorough game of _I Spy with My Little Eye_, with only one problem…

"I spy with my little eye…" Tenten muttered, a finger to her chin, thinking. "Something that is beige!"

"I know! I know!" Lee flung his hand in the air, waving madly. "**SAND!**"

"Yay. Lee wins again." Tenten sweat dropped. It was _very_ hard to play this game in a desert…

"Okay! My turn!" He exclaimed. Other Genin and Jounin were muttering angrily at his loudness as they tried to sleep. "I spy with my little eye… Hmm… What _do_ I see?" Lee said thoughtfully, pondering, scanning his surroundings.

"I spy with my little eye… _Gaara?_"

**

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****Ehehehe:D Another cliffy!**

**Okay, again, I'm so very sorry for the late update. X.x I don't know when I'll be able to update again, but I'll try to make it soon.**

**I haven't seen Tsunade or Shizune yet in any episode, so forgive me if their attitudes are wrong. I've read in other stories that Tsunade drinks and gambles a lot, so I assume this is correct?**

** About the _Yorukage_: _ 'Yoru'_ means _'night'_ in Japanese. ( 3 Japanese handbooks and dictionaries rock.)**

**About this "Karura" that was in the story for a split second: 3 You'll just have to wait to see who she is, hmm? (For those of you who have already seen the entire series, you should know who she is.)**

**Oh, and about Naruto. ;O You'll just have to wait and see what happened to him, ne?**

**Thank you, and PLEASE review!**

**Phoenix-Roar**


	9. The Lion, the Gambler, and the Project

Now that I am on summer vacation, I should be able to write some more, but I'm **extremely** lazy in updating, as you have probably noticed by now. (: I shall try to write more soon, but it takes me a while to come up with good stuff. I present to you, the reader (and reviewer? C: ), another chapter of Open Windows!

**This fan fiction may display course language and violent scenes; thus, IT IS NOT acceptable to ALL audiences. Readers should be aware of this before reading.**

**IMPORTANT!!!**

**I'M GOING TO CHANGE THE TITLES OF CHAPTERS AND OF THE ENTIRE STORY SOON! I thought readers should be aware of this, so that they don't think it's another story. (:**

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**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the anime/manga "Naruto"; Masashi Kishimoto owns "Naruto". Any trademarks, characters, storylines, plots, etc. from the anime/manga "Naruto" belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I would also like to say that ratings, page formats, chapter scroll bars, etc., (this goes for all of my stories and this one as well) that my stories are using are all thanks to this host website. "Wikipedia", the online lookup, also helped me with jutsus and moves that the characters use. I don't own the name "Wikipedia" either. **_

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---The Lion, the Gambler, and the Project---

--- Chapter 9 ---

--- Normal POV ---

The redhead shot past tsunamis of sand dunes, feet hardly skimming the ground before he launched himself forward again. His mind seemed to have had enough of being used by Gaara, and refused to interpret anything going on around him.

A dark glow trailed continuously behind him, slowly dissipating as he became farther away. That glow came from chakra, which came from the many rings which Gaara was forced to behold. His muscles felt lightweight, super flexible, and they wouldn't feel tired, no matter how hard he pushed them.

Voices drifted into Gaara's head, like whispers. His sharpened sense of hearing identified a large group of ninja, ages varying. He headed towards that direction, his feet leading him there. It was time to commence the plan.

---

Lee stood, squinting into the distance, a gauze-wrapped hand shading his eyes so that his sight was 'better', although there was no sun at the time. "Hey! Gaara's coming this way!" He called. Some Genin and some Jounin stood to get a better look.

"What's _he_ doing here?" Kurenai narrowed her crimson eyes, her dark hair shifting in the continuous wind of the desert. Asuma stood beside her. He plucked the cigarette from his mouth, and held it between his fingers, sighing out the smoke from his lungs in contemplation. He tilted his head slightly. "I don't think it's pure coincidence that he'd find us in this vast desert at this hour, especially with that suspicious chakra that he's glowing with."

---

The pack of alert ninja was becoming closer. The air seemed to be distilled from all of their heartbeats, and although he had no idea how he could notice that, he didn't really have the option to care. He ran up the side of a tall sand dune, then, hardly brushing the top of the sand dune, jumped from it. Midair, he pulled his outstretched arms inwards. The sand surrounding them rose up, and prepared itself to crash down like tides of water, with the Leaf Ninja as its target.

"Everybody MOVE," Shouted Asuma, cigarette forgotten in the swirling sand as he ran forth, acting as a herding dog to the Genin stragglers. The golden waves came crashing down upon Kurenai and Gai, but their forms transformed into logs before being crushed. A simple substitution was all they needed to avoid the situation.

Gaara landed securely, the sand shifting around him as if charged with surges of electricity. His penetrating eyes of steel shifted around, analyzing the area for any ninja of whom had dodged his launched attack. He began to move, sand crawling around his form loosely. They couldn't be too far off.

'Are we going to fight with him, or escape?' Asuma thought. 'That's probably why Kurenai and Gai stayed behind, to take care of him.' He turned to face the horizon; there was no sign of a changing landscape any time soon. All they could do was move as quickly as possible.

'Although it doesn't make sense to run away from a single enemy with this large of a trained group,' Asuma continued mentally, 'we don't actually know if he's on somebody else's side. We can't afford to lose any ninja now. It's too early in the operation.' Thus, the short-haired man confirmed his doubts, and continued to usher the Genin forth. It seemed that it would be a very long time until they would get any rest.

---

Gai smiled, teeth sparkling, and gave thumbs up to Kurenai, who would've deadpanned if the situation wasn't to-the-moment. The black-haired sensei nodded in response, then poked her head over the top of the sand dune slowly. She squinted, to reduce the amount of sand blowing into her eyes. Gaara was going after the larger group of Genin. Had he not noticed that two Jounin were stalking him?

She lowered herself again, returning the thumbs up sign to Gai for affirmation (although feeling embarrassed as she did so). Kurenai formed hand signs, making multiple clones of herself. One ran forth, over the sand dune. Gaara noted the oddness in presence, and sharply turned, darkly framed eyes vicious. The sand slowly twisted backwards, shooting at her. The form was punctured by sharp, hardened spikes of sand. It disappeared in a puff of smoke, and another launched itself over, distracting the dangerous teen furthermore.

The sand demon vanished as Gai's fist smashed down where he had just stood a half-second before. They waited for a moment, the sand stopping its anxious shifting slowly. "Damnit, we lost him!" Kurenai cursed while Gai gritted his pearly whites. They both disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaves reigning in the air for a moment before being swept underneath the cruel grains of sand. However, the duo could not locate Asuma and the group unless they knew _where_ to go exactly, so they would be stuck with the old guess-and-check formula.

Invalid eyes, surrounded by the darkness of insomnia and a demon, peered from the dancing shards of earth. The anti-flamboyant orbs watched them with malevolent intent. Some members of the team were already short of breath, as they had traveled a long way. Yes, it was quite the perfect timing on behalf of Gaara, for if he had done his ambush any sooner, he would have had to actually put up a real fight.

His small, lithe, but heinous figure began to form above the surface of the ground slowly. It would be fun to watch their melancholy grow with his penitence as he put his plan into action. His face was consumed by an invisible layer of ice; he blinked his eyes once to focus them. The demon renting out his insides seemed to hover over him like the omen of a heretic, hypnotizing him into stealthily indulging in the experience. His crimson hair jutted in the wind as he leaped forward like the king of the cats, the lion himself.

---

"You're not freaking serious."

"Oh yes, _I am."_

"Well I'm not doing it."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not. And you can't make me."

A pink-haired female and a raven-haired male were arguing in low voices in a rocky prison cell. The female had a malicious smirk on her face, and the male had a permanent scowl on his.

"C'mon, you have to try! For Naruto's sake, and anybody else that's trapped here!" She urged, the smirk falling a bit.

"How about we see who the next guard is? If it's a guy, you get to do what you tried to convince me into doing, and if it's a female, well… I guess I'm gonna do it," Sasuke said miserably, crossing his arms.

"Deal," Sakura said, that smirk gaining all of its potential again. "Just remember, the whole point of this is to get the heck out of here as quickly as possible." She said quietly. He nodded in exasperation, nearly rolling his eyes. Footsteps began to echo, as if on cue, and Sakura held a finger up to her lips, as if to silence even the tiniest spider crawling on the wall. The pink haired woman shifted to the corner of the cell and flattened her back against it, trying to remain unseen in the side of the opening. She had the maps and documents rolled up in a hidden pocket of hers. Around the bend came, low and behold, a female guard. Sasuke let out a low moan, and Sakura nearly giggled at his misfortune. She had to place her hand over her mouth to keep from bursting out loud.

Sasuke stood, letting out a sigh. The guard stopped, turned, and magically began to walk through the shield of impenetrable dark chakra. She was fashioned with solid metal bands. She carried the most grotesque of foods that they had ever seen. She put them down slowly, keeping her dead, glassy eyes on Sasuke with suspicion.

"Er… Hello," Sasuke said, taking a step forward. She froze, her hand immediately flying to her pocket to retrieve a kunai.

"Aww, you don't want to hurt little ol' me, do you?" As much as it pained him to say, he forced the words to tumble from his mouth. He forced one of his eyes to close in what looked like- well, was supposed to look like- a flirtatious, promiscuous wink, when a kunai went flying at him. He dodged it with a "whoa", emerging with a rip on the sleeve of his shirt.

A fist was brought down on the female's head, and she crumpled to the floor. Sakura puffed with pride, but did not waste time boasting. She looked through the pockets of the 'unconscious' person, and dug up a couple of the disks that she was wearing on her arm. They were glowing a dark purple.

Sakura looked at the same coloured chakra that was blocking their freedom, and then at the chakra-engulfed ring, and made the connection. "Quick, slip this on!" She said, throwing him one, for there were only two. She fit the metal band over her dominant arm, and it tightened down to a death grip. She frowned and gave it a tug, but it wouldn't budge. Her heart leapt to her throat, but she ignored it for now. "Let's get out-" A pain was suddenly caused in her left leg, and when she looked down, a couple thin streams of blood streamed down it from a puncture wound from a weapon. The unpleasant woman had gotten up, and was standing behind her, wielding that sharp object. Sasuke had muttered words and formed hand signs while Sakura was still in shock, and blew fire at the creature. A howl escaped the reincarnated female, before she fell to the floor again, smoldering disgustingly like wax, only worse. The deadened _thing_ on the floor gave out a couple of defeated twitches.

Sakura had to look away at the sight, and quickly ran at the barrier in fear. She shot right through it with some difficulty, and landed on the other side, staggering. She was shaking like a leaf. Sasuke was soon by her side. "Now we know they can regenerate." He said.

Sakura took a quick look at the figure Sasuke had set on fire, and noticed that the twitching was becoming more and more frequent. Soon, the guard was beginning to make signs of getting up again.

The duo fled. While they were running, Sakura pulled the map from her pocket, and unfurled it erratically. 'Naruto-kun, where did you go?' Sakura thought in a panic. Sasuke gave a small tug at the ring on his dominant arm. "Huh, these things won't come off… Do you even know what they are?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at his team member. Sakura let out a tiny, nervous laugh. "I thought of it on the spot, okay? It's not fool-proof."

Sasuke came to a halt, grabbing Sakura's arm to keep her from running ahead. "Wha-" The male ninja covered her mouth with his hand hastily and pulled her behind a rock that was jutting out of the ground nicely.

Two guards were walking down the hallway. As if they could smell the hidden ninjas' blood, they stopped right beside the rock. Sasuke and Sakura both held their breaths, hearts beating fast. Sakura now understood what Sasuke had sensed. There was an omnipresent force in the gigantic cavern, one that could be sensed everywhere, as if dark chakra was floating in the air. However, when one of those guards came by, it became stronger.

The two guards continued on their paths, down the hallway that the duo had just emerged from. Sakura stood, and then quickly scanned the area for any more guards.

"Let's go," Sasuke muttered, and the two took off at an even faster pace. They would almost immediately be discovered as missing, and they had a dangerously high chance of getting caught.

---

Sandy tendrils zoomed along the ground, reaching ominously towards their intended target like twisted, morbid vines. The predator, Gaara, was crouched at a distance away from the herd of ninja, an invalid smirk on his face. The sand suddenly jumped, seizing one of the enemies.

Asuma came to a stop, and ran back at the cocooned genin. As the victim tried to get out, the sandy cage bulged like a water balloon pressured under chakra. It then became still and smooth, like an undisturbed lake surface. The victim had stopped struggling. Asuma, using his spiked knuckle weapons, punched at the barrier that separated him from one of his students, but to no avail.

"No!! Shikamaru!" Ino yelled, prepared to step in. Choji gaped; their third squad member had been just behind them, when suddenly, the sand snapped up and swallowed him. Kurenai, who had found the group of genin not long ago with Gai, placed a hand on their shoulders. "Ino, Choji, stay here," Kurenai ordered firmly, then ran at the cocoon.

"Follow me!" Gai yelled, trying to herd the rest of the ninja away from the scene.

Kurenai shot large balls of chakra at the solid cage of sand, but it just reformed before it could be completely obliterated. Asuma breathed heavily, only having made a small dent in the sand since he had started. With a snap-like movement, the sand withdrew, and its victim, Shikamaru, disappeared with it. Asuma fell to his knees, and strained his fingers through the sand where his student disappeared.

"We'll get him back. The faster we can get there, the faster we can rescue him… I think it's all connected." Kurenai said, hoping to get the defeated Asuma standing again. "Don't forget, we've got Tsunade on our side."

After a moment, the sensei stood and nodded, a completely furious face exposed. The two ran forth, catching up to the fleeing giant squad.

---

"Pathetic humans." Gaara muttered in his monotonous voice, the sand cage following him at an unrealistic speed. "Finally, the plan's almost set…"

---

"Sunagakure." Tsunade looked upon the sand-blown gate that barricaded her from her destination. 'I have a feeling that this is the city where my problems reside.'

The blonde lady pushed the gate open powerfully. The wooden panels swung open quickly, as if they feared the angry hokage. Guards leapt to their feet, unveiling kunai. However, once the sight of the hokage reached their eyes, they immediately came to a halt in their actions and bowed.

'They have funny looks in their eyes.' Tsunade analyzed them suspiciously as two walked around her to close the gate.

"Hokage-Sama! It is a pleasant surprise." Baki walked into the scene, as he was one guard on shift. He bowed in front of the visitor.

"Baki," Likewise, the hokage did a quick half-bow, and then spoke. "I need to speak to the Kazekage immediately. Would you please direct me to him?"

Baki spoke with an apologetic voice, but his sly eyes deceived him. "I am terribly sorry, but the Kazekage has an extremely tight schedule for this week, and he has no time for extra appointments. Please check with me again next week." He bowed again slightly, and disappeared before Tsunade could say anything.

She sighed, continuing to walk into the town. 'I guess I must confront the problem by myself.'

"Hokage-Sama," spoke one of the Suna guards shakily, "may I ask you what your business is within Sunagakure, Land of the Wind?"

Tsunade closed her eyes and flipped around, lifting a threatening finger in the ninja's face.

"Do you not know who I am?! DO YOU NOT KNOW WHAT THIS BRIEFCASE IS FILLED WITH?!" Shrieked Tsunade. In fact, she yelled so loud, the poor ninja's bangs seemed to blow backwards with the sudden force.

"IT'S FILLED WITH MONEY! YOU GUYS HAVE GREAT CASINOS AND BARS! NEED I SAY MORE?" Tsunade huffed in his face. "Good day." With a quick bow, she scurried out of view.

'Phew. That was close.' The young-looking elderly woman walked through the busy streets of the desert city, before coming to a halt a ways away from a heavily guarded massive building.

'This is it. Here I come, Kazekage, busy or not!' A sly smirk crossed Tsunade's face as she slipped out of the crowd, into a deep alley, unnoticed.

---

"_Haku." _An omnipresent voice spoke.

"_Yes, Yorukage,"_ The zombie-like figure with long, black hair, replied.

"_You are going to assist in The Project, which I have already explained to you,"_ The shadowed figure spoke slowly, ominously. _"At all costs, you are to keep Naruto and Gaara under perfect condition, and at the directed time, you are to fuse the Kyuubi and the Shukaku into one. With this ultimate jutsu, a new monster will be created, and we shall have total rule with it."_ The figure stood from its perch, shadows licking at its heels. _"If you fail this ultimate mission, I will send your soul into the bowels of hell. And don't think I can't. Because I absolutely __**can**__."_

Haku stared glassily at the floor.

…

'_We could've been friends…' Blond hair ruffled in the slight breeze blowing on the bridge. 'I'm sorry it had to be this way.' Sapphire eyes, full of sorrow and guilt… 'If only we had the chance to be friends… If situations were different, I wouldn't have to do this to you, but I'm left with no other choice.' The eyes of hurt were shiny with unshed tears, and eyelids gently closed over them. 'It just so happens that you are with the enemy, and I am your opponent. My friends are in danger because of the enemy. I am going to protect them at __**all costs. **__I'm sorry… but this is goodbye.' The blue eyes opened, and with a newfound energy, the blond raised a fist and punched out with a growl. _

_A snap…_

_A creak…_

_The mask split._

…

Haku raised his expressionless eyes slowly. _"Understood, Yorukage."_

* * *

C: I hope you liked that chapter! Please review. It's not a great chapter, I know... It isn't my longest chapter either, but heck, I really wanted to get something out sooner than later.

OOoooOOOOoooh! What's up with Haku? ;) You'll just have to wait and see! (Hopefully this time you won't have to wait longer than a month. X.x Sorry about that!)

Thank you for reading! Please review, if you can! I really appreciate all comments!

_Phoenix-Roar_

**P.S. DON'T FORGET! I'LL BE CHANGING THE TITLES OF MY STORY/CHAPTERS SOON! **


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